A Live Oak High sophomore came out on top Wednesday in the
Morgan Hill Rotary Club
’s speech competition, winning $100 and a chance to compete for
$1,000 in scholarship money in the district’s annual contest.
A Live Oak High sophomore came out on top Wednesday in the Morgan Hill Rotary Club’s speech competition, winning $100 and a chance to compete for $1,000 in scholarship money in the district’s annual contest.
Kiely Smith was one of four contestants to participate in the contest. Christopher Burnham, a Martin Murphy Middle ninth grader, was runner-up. Stefan Villanueva of Central High, the first student from Central to participate, and Natalie James, a Britton Middle ninth grader also wrote and delivered speeches in the contest.
The students had to limit the length of their speeches to five minutes, and they had to follow the theme for the year, “Sowing the Seeds of Love,” while incorporating the Rotary’s four-way test for evaluation of actions.
The test asks four questions: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build good will and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Kiely’s speech began with references to her brother who is working to help the needy in the Philippines. She recognized Rotary’s tradition of service and told the audience of Rotarians and guests that even if they could not go out of the country to help others, they could begin with little acts of kindness here at home.
“If you can’t go abroad, there are still many things to be done here at home,” she said. “It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown, grows into a large tree. One small deed grows into something much larger.”
She also referred to the lyrics of a song, “Man in the Mirror,” telling the audience that she was going to follow the singer’s advice and look to the person in the mirror to begin helping others.
Judges were asked to consider the content of the speech, whether the contestant had incorporated the theme and the four-way test into the speech, the contestant’s delivery, including voice control, diction and gestures, and overall effectiveness.
Kiely’s win takes her to the next step, a competition in Hollister March 14 with a $200 first prize. The final competition is April 27 at the district’s annual conference in Santa Clara.
