We had the good fortune of connecting with Natalie MacLean and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Natalie, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Personally, I love taking risks. In fact, most of my successes have come from taking risks. For example, when I was given the opportunity to run for a HOSA state officer position I was already committed to being a chapter president in my home school. This would later come up to be a huge responsibility and I would later be swamped with work. Despite this challenge, I am grateful I decided to take that risk and be both a state officer and a chapter officer because it has led to so many opportunities to better HOSA as an organization. One of these opportunities is being able to help my home chapter by bringing information and skills from the state level to my chapter meetings. In the end, I have helped better HOSA – Future Health Professionals on the state and local levels. This wouldn’t have been possible without me taking a risk and taking on a lot of responsibility. I think risk is a way to learn and grow even if you fail. Sometimes we get the short end of the stick when we take risks and that’s okay. We can learn from that risk so we don’t make a decision like that again.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a HOSA – Future Health Professional Colorado state officer. I think I am different from others because I jump onto opportunities with no fear. Typically, when someone is presented with an opportunity to have a leadership role at a state level they might be scared of the idea. But I jump on that opportunity with confidence in my abilities and optimism about the outcomes. I know that even if I make mistakes in my role, I will be able to learn and grow from them.

I am very excited to publish and update the new Colorado HOSA website. Before my term started it was hard to follow and aspects of it could be improved. I have made it a goal during my term to update that website and make it easier for members to navigate.

It was not easy to become a state officer. It took many months of interviews, essays, letters of recommendation, signatures, etc. There were many times that I thought to myself, “Is this even worth it,” and, “I probably won’t even get elected.” Despite these thoughts, my parents motivated me to continue the process which led to me being elected.

It is really important to have someone to help motivate and push you to be the best that you can be. If you are by yourself, you can get caught up in your thoughts and that can make it more challenging to continue working hard, just like my long application process.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Denver, Colorado and it is a great place to visit. We have a lot of cool food places. For example, we have boba shops named Snowl and I love to study and get ice cream and boba there. It is also a cool place to take pictures. Another cool food place is Voodoo Doughnuts and they sell really intricate and delicious doughnuts. My favorite is a doughnut called bubblegum and it has bubblegum on top of the doughnut. One place I love to go with my friends is The Denver Selfie Museum. There they have really cool sets and props where you can take pictures. It is really fun plus you get pictures to remember it. Colorado also has a lot of really cool hikes. My favorite hikes are in Castlewood Canyon because they are only about 30 minutes away from me and they have a lot of really pretty hikes of all different difficulty levels.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I know I wouldn’t be able to be where I am today without the support of my parents. Through thick and thin my parents have always pushed me to be the best version of myself. They have always reminded me to stay true to myself throughout my work in the community. They always know when something is wrong and they always know how to make me feel better. When I ask for their opinions on my work, they give me constructive criticism and help me improve. I know they are always there for me and rooting for me when no one else is. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Website: coloradohosa.org

Instagram: @nataliestatehosa

Linkedin: Natalie MacLean

Image Credits
Jayla Wiley Ashley Perez

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