Three Hillcrest High School students earned top-10 finishes out of roughly 15,000 competitors at the 2026 HOSA International Leadership Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Aahana Sharmacharya, Nithila Karthik and Shatakshi Sinha each placed in the top 10 in their respective events: Sharmacharya in Prepared Speaking, Karthik in Extemporaneous Writing for Health Policy and Sinha in Research Poster. The conference drew students from across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, Canada, China and Italy.

"They're literally the top 10 in the world. It is really quite an accomplishment for them," Heather Bonella, Canyons School District's Career and Technical Education and HOSA coordinator, told the district.

The district serves Sandy and Midvale families. All three Huskies had to win at the Utah state level against approximately 1,500 peers just to qualify for Indianapolis. Canyons sent 40 students total to the international conference. A fourth district finisher, Corner Canyon's Surya Kapu, also cracked the top 10 globally in Job Seeking Skills.

HOSA competitions span health-related disciplines including medical device design, dental terminology, team events and research papers. Bonella said the results reflect months of preparation and give students real-world application of classroom skills. That matters.

Karthik, listed as Nithila Antara Karthik in school records, was also recognized as a Hillcrest Husky Hero in May 2026.

Hillcrest, part of Canyons School District with an enrollment of approximately 2,421 students under principal Brenda McCann, opens the 2026-2027 school year Monday, Aug. 17.