There are many opportunities at HAHS for students to showcase their different abilities and talents in order to expand their horizons and get amazing experiences that will further help them in what they want to achieve. One of those includes the 4-Way Speech Contest where students who enter need to answer the following questions in a speech on any topic they would like: “Is it the truth”, “Is it fair?”, “Will it build goodwill and better friendships?”, and “Will it be beneficial to all?” The goal of this speech contest is to allow others to hear a voice and listen to what a speaker believes is important while the speaker also persuades them to believe that it is all four of those questions. There are three levels students have to participate in. The local club level is the first and that is mainly held by local Rotary clubs. The regional level is the second level where the winner of the local club level advances to. Finally, the winners of the regional levels advance to the district levels where the first place winner has a chance of winning up to $1000. 

     Mrs. Machamer sent out an email in late February asking students interested to sign up for the contest. Four students replied and went through with it. Freshman Koa Binder, freshman Sid Bonning, senior Alyssa Thomas, and senior Selena Henne were the four students who created and presented their speeches. The topics talked about varied to each person’s personal experience or interest. Koa Binder talked about grandfamilies, Sid Bonning talked about LGBTQ+ awareness, Alyssa Thomas talked about experiences in psychiatric hospitals, and Selena Henne brought awareness to sexual harassment issues. While each student was very brave to write and speak their own speech to an audience, one of them stood out with her ability to speak and get her point across. Starting in fourth place, Alyssa Thomas won a keychain and $50 prize with her powerful and impactful speech, which had everyone’s full attention the second she began speaking. Koa Binder got third with a keychain and $100 prize as she spoke about her own personal experiences, making the audience emotional and attentive. In second was Sid Bonning, who won a keychain, a $150 prize, and a backup for the regional level. They showed passion in what they believed in and had a presence that made people listen to what they had to say. In first place was Selena Henne. She won a keychain, a $200 prize, and advanced to the regional level after appearing confident and speaking with great pride on what she believed in. 

     All in all, these students are very brave and talented and HAHS is excited to see and cheer on Selena at the regional level on April 6. Being able to speak in front of an audience is an amazing achievement and experience that is sure to help a student progress in life. If a student has a topic they feel passionate and strongly about, they are highly encouraged to participate in the 4-Way Speech Contest, for it is an amazing opportunity that should be taken advantage of.