St. Johnsbury Rotary held the annual Club Speech Contest on Monday, March 14, 2022 via zoom. Three St. Johnsbury Academy Students from Tom Lovett's Speech Class competed.
The topic was "How can your school partner with Rotary to change lives?"
Payton Molleur was the winner with his speech on ideas for St. Johnsbury Academy and St. Johnsbury Rotary to partner to help raise the voices of marginalized individuals, help foster connections between community leaders and individuals who are experiencing financial insecurity or homelessness, and to raise the alarm on these issues through seminars, conferences, and public outreach.
2nd place was Clara Andre with her speech about creating a Rotary Women's Mentorship Program to provide professional mentorship for female students who are interested in business. This could also include an Annual Women in Leadership Conference.
3rd place was Greer Kennedy with her speech on creating a leadership media platform for high school students that could provide peer tutoring, international connections, and service & youth leadership opportunities.
Payton will go on to compete in the Rotary District 7850 round of the speech contest to be held on May 7th. Thank you to all of the students for their inspiring ideas!