On April 3rd the Minden Rotary Club hosted three high school age women who competed in the District Student Speech Contest. This was the second round of competition between the winners from Douglas, South Lake Tahoe and Carson City Rotary Clubs. Rotarian Jim Hales presented the ground rules of the contest to the audience and judges, referring to each of the three students as contestant number one,
number two and number three. The audience was cautioned to not applaud or show any favoritism after each speech until all had given their talks.

The three judges, who had no prior knowledge of the students or their earlier speeches, were given a detailed “score page” to evaluate the contestants with eight categories subdivided into three sections:  Content, Delivery and Language. Each contestant was asked to talk within a specific amount of time, on an aspect of Rotary’s mission in the community: to support at risk youth and other important community programs.

Contestant number one, Amiya Lamb, a senior at Carson High School won 3rd place honors and was awarded a check from the Rotary Foundation for $75. Amiya spoke on how social media can be hurtful.  She said that making negative comments can bring people down. Amiya also spoke on how people should be making positive changes by helping other people and by being kinder, that negative
comments by others can lead to depression. Complementing people in any way, even a small way, can be helpful and that “putting in the extra mile” can make a person feel better about themselves was her message.

Contestant number two, Shyanne Casteel, is a sophomore at Carson High School. Shyanne won 2nd place and was given a $125 check from the Rotary Foundation. Her topic was mental health and how the “mind can be a scary place”. Rotary has a desire to keep the community and youth healthy and she knows that mental health is a big part of that scenario. Shyanne spoke about personal struggles and how opening up was the best thing for her and that she is now helping others who have difficulties. Because of her interest in art and desire to help others she wants to become an Art Therapist. Another outlet that Shyanne enjoys is Native dancing.

Contestant number three, Anne Jones, a home-schooled sophomore from Douglas County, won 1st place and was given a check from the Rotary Foundation for $250. Anne had won the earlier club level first round with another $250 award. She will be going on to the Area contest in Fallon where the winners from Rotary Clubs from northern Nevada and Northern California, east of Sacramento, will compete. Anne’s speech focused on the need for emotional education that teaches not just the mind but also the whole person. Stating that depression and mental health can be improved by participating in the arts, including music and theater, Anne believes these creative outlets provide positive impacts that can “give a boost”.
Expressing oneself through these activities complete an education, round out the individual and improve mental health.

Congratulations to all the contestants who had the courage and poise to speak on their topics with conviction and confidence. Good luck to Anne Jones in the next round. Rotary supports youth in their growth toward adulthood and their discovery that “service before self” benefits themselves and others.

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Thank you to guest author, Kory Miller for this fantastic article!