JAMESTOWN – Two Jamestown High School seniors won the top spots in the Optimist Oratorical Contest in Lockport this month.
Grayson Holt and William Karr will now move to the next level of competition and compete against all the other winners in Utica on April 27, 2019.
“During my speech, I felt surprisingly confident,” said William. “Mrs. Price really prepared us with specifics of what to expect. When I was giving my speech, so many thoughts we’re going through my mind. It’s really more about how the speaker delivers his speech through gestures, eye contact, vocal variation, pacing, and passion. During my speech, I kept reminding myself to check every one of these boxes.”
The five-minute speech was based on this topic: “Is there a fine line between optimism and reality?”
“The Optimist Oratorical Contest is an amazing opportunity for me to speak on a topic that is vitally important to me because optimism motivates me to do my best in any situation,” said Holt. “Public Speaking is a critical but often neglected skill. Having a teacher as competent and passionate as Mrs. Price, I believe, will give me the necessary resources to do well in the following rounds of competition.
The ultimate grand prize is a $22,000.00 college scholarship.
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