Students Talk About Pressures, Temptations During Speeches
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
The pressure to succeed, artificial intelligence shortcuts, and difficulty of the college application process are top-of-mind of Rotary Speech Contest Finalists.
One of the components of the recent SE PA Rotary District Service Day ago was the Roger Taylor Rotary Speech Contest Finals.
Finalists, l-r: Bhuvi Gupta; Tasfia Taylor; and Ovia Gopinath.
The Rotary Speech Contest is a competition for high schoolers to illustrate the Rotary Four-Way Test. Students prepare and delivery a five to seven minute speech. The test is to ask the question when making decisions: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? The speech contest helps students by nurturing ethical decision making, developing writing and public speaking skills, and empowering advocacy for causes they care about. It is free for students to enter and the top winners receive cash prizes.
The original 24 semi-finalists were narrowed down to three. The winners were as follows:
1st place went to Ovia Gopinath (pictured right and below) from Garnet Valley High School. She is a sophomore and sponsored by Glen Riddle club. She spoke about resisting the temptation to use AI shortcuts. This is a recorded version of her speech from the semifinals.
2nd place went to Bhuvi Gupta (pictured left) from Lower Merion High School. She is a Sophomore and sponsored by the Bryn Mawr club. Her topic was the pressure students are under. Watch her semifinals recording here.
Pictured l-r: Susan Mardinly, Speech Contest Chair; Ovia Gopinath, first place finalist: and Kerry Leraris, Contest Judge.
3rd place went to Tasfia Taylor Rashid (pictured center) fromNazareth Academy High School. She is a senior and is sponsored by the Rotary Club of PA East. Her speech about the college application process can be seen here.
The Southeastern Pennsylvania District annually works with local clubs to select and advance students for the competition, named the Roger Taylor Rotary Speech Contest. Roger Taylor, who died in 2022, worked tirelessly to encourage students to apply to the competition.
If you know of a 2026-27 high school student who might like to participate in the speech contest, contact a Rotary Club in your area.