While it isn’t always apparent for high school students what direction their life will take after graduation, Wright City senior Tori Orf says she set herself on a path after a severe ailment introduced her to the medical profession.

“Last summer I got a blood clot in my leg and I ended up in the hospital. I didn’t really have a window before into the healthcare field, but when I ended up in the hospital, I just wanted to know everything about the human body and what had happened to me,” Orf said. “It was like the ‘door’ flew open.”

Last year, Orf joined the Wright City chapter of HOSA, a student organization for future medical professionals. This year, she’s enrolled in the school’s health occupation program, a career-oriented program provided in partnership with Four Rivers Career Center in Washington.

This summer, a year after her ailment, Orf competed in a Health Career Photography competition through HOSA. Her submissions featuring a hospital admin, a registered nurse, and a pharmacist, took her to second place at the state level and on to compete at HOSA’s international conference in Nashville.

Orf has also served as her class’s president for two consecutive years, helping to lead planning for school activities and events.

Q: What career are you interested in?
“The main goal is to be a surgeon. ... My big interest is trauma surgery.”

Q: What steps will you have to take to do that?
“I’ve been accepted to Mizzou. My next step is to retake my ACT for a better score so I can get into the honors college, and then meet with an advisor to discuss what major would best suit me.
“I’m also going to get involved in Mizzou’s PAWS program, which is basically ... building your med school resume while you’re still an undergrad.”

Q: What classes are you taking now to prepare for that?
“Anatomy last year was the first class. This year I’m in the health occupation class. ... It’s three hours long, and there’s an instructor (from Four Rivers) who comes to teach us. First semester, we basically we learn anatomy more in-depth, and then second semester we have the opportunity to do clinicals at places like hospitals, the vet, the police department, the fire department.”

Q: Were you interested in science before your personal experience?
“I wasn’t always interested in science. ... It was being in that situation that opened the door.”

Q: What has been challenging for you in preparing for college?
“The most challenging thing is that I don’t really have a backup plan. ... If I don’t make it into med school, then what’s going to happen?”

Q: What advice would you give to younger students wondering about their own future?
“I wish I would have gotten involved in things that I didn’t know a lot about, or that didn’t seem to interest me. If I would have joined clubs like HOSA at a younger age and gone to things like summer camps, those opportunities would have been there for me at a younger age, and I would have had a more solid plan.”

Q: What have you learned from being class president?
“I’ve learned a lot of communication skills, and how it’s super important to throw something out there, talk about it and see how everyone feels about it, so that everyone’s happy.”