By Alex Hartmann
amhartmann@lc.edu
On March 20, seven students took the stage at the Ann Whitney Olin Theatre of the Hatheway Cultural Center at Lewis and Clark Community College for the annual “You Have a Voice!” Humanities Speech Contest. This event, organized by the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and co-sponsored by L&C Student Activities, provides a platform for students to share their perspectives on what it means to be human. This year is the 10th anniversary of the event.
This annual event is based on the concept of humanity and speeches can be based on anything within that topic. The contest featured passionate and thought-provoking speeches, each grappling with the complexities of human existence.
PTK Advisor and LC Professor Elizabeth Grant spoke about how she hears speeches in her classes and thinks that these need to be heard by more people.
There were a variety of presenters from which there could be three winners. The top three winners earn cash prizes. Speeches were to be informative and persuasive, with a time limit of five to eight minutes.
Our third-place winner was Tweneboa Kodua Queenster. She spoke about how determination has affected her life. Throughout her life, her family has inspired her to be determined to do what she wants to do.
The second-place winner was Madi Boullion. She spoke about her experience with her dream to be a teacher and how people perceive her because of this. How she came to this decision and how it has truly inspired her to become the best teacher she can be. Boullion was the first-place winner in the previous 2023 competition.
The first-place winner of this year’s Speech Competition was Belle Blackorby, who spoke on how empathy is a needed part of everyday human life. She went into detail about how she grew up with an empathic mother and how that has affected her way of life and behavior toward others. She explained how empathy is everywhere and how it is essential to human existence.
For more information on future events or how to get involved in next year’s competition, contact PTK Advisor Elizabeth Grant at eegrant@lc.edu.
