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In the Optimist Club’s oratorical contest, from left, Zachary Rodger placed first, Jacob Hopkins placed second, Connor Kalkanis placed third, and Sophie Borowski and Phoebe Navin earned certificates for their speeches.
Photo by Patricia O’Blenes
ROYAL OAK — The Royal Oak Optimist Club recently held its annual oratorical contest March 22 and recognized local students for their work in crafting speeches based on a specific prompt.
The prompt given to the five contestants was “Discovering the Optimism Within Me.” The students, who came from three local schools, were tasked with preparing speeches of four to five minutes based on the prompt.
“It gives kids a chance to get them experience speaking in front of groups, and, you know, helps them with self-confidence, and it just helps prepare them for those kinds of situations,” Optimist Club President Richard Bremer said
For the contest, Bremer said, the contestants take the theme and compare it to their own experiences. He said the kids who participated this year all did well.
“They’re all very polished,” he said. “They all did a really good job.”
First, second and third place winners were given $150, $100 and $50, respectively. The student who came in first was Zachary Rodger, of Detroit Country Day High School.
Rodger, who heard about the contest from one of his teachers, used his speech to discuss former Sen. James Abourezk, of South Dakota, the first Arab American who served in the U.S. Senate and who died in February.
“I was really inspired by his optimism, and then in my speech, I talked about how I learned about his optimism. I then applied that spirit to my own life, specifically in sports and soccer,” he said.
During his career, Rodger said, Abourezk faced many obstacles but fought through them and managed to make it to the Senate in the 1970s and founded the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee which, according to its website, is “the largest Arab American grassroots organization in the U. S.”
Rodger, who is Arab American, said Abourezk’s ability to push forward encapsulates what optimism is about. He stated it was a great feeling to be awarded first place from the club.
“I’ll be able to tell more people about Sen. Abourezk, I’ll be able to inform more people about the committee,” he said. “So just to get his name out there and get the cause out there is a great feeling, and especially when people are recognizing, that’s a really great feeling.”
Rodger and the second place student, Jacob Hopkins, qualified for a regional oratorical contest that will be held later this month.
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