Last week students competed in the annual Senior Public Speaking Competition.  I am always impressed by the way the students make me think, laugh and evoke emotion.  The topics ranged from battling depression to terrorism. It is amazing to see students from all over the world competing.  Students from Mexico, Germany, China and Canada participated this year.  There are three divisions in the Upper School Public Speaking Competition: Junior, English as a Second Language and Senior. Please view the incredible speeches below:

Our Senior division Dr. W.H. Merritt Memorial Prize Winner Lea Müller ’14 is from Germany and just last year she competed in the English as a Second Language division. Her moving speech about the struggles of mental illness was very touching.

The Senior division runner-up Honorable Mr. Justice A. Courtney Kingstone Award winner was Kailene Jackson ’15.  She spoke about the question that plagues many students: what are you going to do with your future?

The ESL Thomas Kwok Award winner was Theresa Li ’16.  This is a very special award started by an Old Ridleian, Thomas Kwok ’10 who was an English as a Second Language student.  Thomas competed in the public speaking competition when he was a student and thought there should be a special category for ESL students who had the courage to compete.   Theresa entertained the audience with her speech on complaining and how often we complain too much!

The Junior Division Family Guild Award winner was Noel Cousins ’16. His thought provoking speech was on terrorism and perspective:

A special thanks to Tim Griffin and Chris Carter from the Class of 1968 for judging the public speaking competition and for Greg Thompson ’68 and Brian Iggulden ’67 for their support.