Students Embrace Humanity For Annual Speech Contest

More than 100 people affiliated with Gilroy's were at the Gilroy Elks Lodge to watch four local students compete in the annual Rotary Youth Speech Contest on Tuesday.

students Jonahluis Galvez, 16, and Bryan Kachakji, 15, along with Jenni Sigl, 16, and Nicole Beleno, 16, of gave a four-to-five minute speech based on the theme, "Reach Within to Embrace Humanity."

Impressive speeches were abound, with one student telling listeners how a trip to Tecate Mexico made her realize that happiness is key, and another one describing her mother's journey to the states from the Philippines.

Rachel Perez and Kathleen Rose of Gavilan College, Lloyd Lowrey of Noland, Hamerly, Etienne & Hoss, Bob Kovacs of Kovacs Chiropractic and Jill Fortino of Fortino Winery judged contestants on the content of their speech, the delivery and overall effectiveness for a total of 100 possible points.

Although the scores were close, only one student could be victorious—and that was Jenni Sigl.

"I felt really good about my speech, but I thought that it could of gone any way," she said. "I really liked the speeches of the people I was competing with."

Sigl won over the judges by incorporating the theme into an experience she had with a young neighborhood girl during a mission trip to Mexico.

"The message I was trying to convey was that embracing humanity means learning what makes you happy," Sigl said. "For her, happiness and embracing humanity was just being happy with the life she was given, and the ultimate message was just that anyone can embrace humanity in their own way."

Beleno took second place, Kachakji third and Galvez fourth.

According to Marco Renella, who has served as speech chairman for eight years, Sigl stood out because she was the most polished and comfortable of the group.

"She was more focused on the topic, her delivery was better, she was a clearer speaker, she had the presence almost like an adult," he said. "Was she that much better than the others? No, but she had a mature delivery."

Sigl will move onto the second round of the competition in Morgan Hill where she'll be competing against five groups that include students from Morgan Hill, San Juan Bautista and Hollister.

Although Sigl took first place, the consensus among many attendees was that all four contestants were exceptional.

Here's what a couple attendees had to say about the foursome.

"I think this was an outstanding group. They did, I think, the best I've seen at the Rotary, and as speech presenters they just did an amazing job," said Jaime Rosso, board member.

"This year the level of the student was much, much improved than years before," Rotarian Hamdy Abbass said. "They were very close in the score, and having the family come here, the principals of both schools and the superintendent here makes a huge difference for these young people to be the future leader. So we look forward in being a small part in creating that future leader of the community."