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Oratorical Club — Finding My Voice
School
Mill Creek Middle School
Organization
Oratorical Club
Role
Student Member / Competitive Speaker
Competition
Optimist International Oratorical Contest
Local Competition
Town Lake Optimist Club
Result
1st Place — Club-Level Winner
Advancement
Advanced to District-Level Competition
Program Type
Public Speaking & Competitive Oratory
Focus
Speech preparation, presentation, confidence, audience engagement, and competitive speaking
Experience
Writing and preparing an original speech, practicing delivery, presenting before judges and an audience, and competing beyond the school setting
Skills Developed
Public speaking, speechwriting, preparation, memorization, confidence, audience engagement, and performing under pressure
Portfolio Evidence
Competition speech video
Impact
My Voice → Discovering Confidence Through Competitive Speaking
My Leadership → Learning to Prepare, Persevere & Speak With Purpose
My Impact → Building the Foundation for the Speaker I Am Becoming
Cherokee County Oratorical Contest 2023 Link
My experience with competitive public speaking began at Mill Creek Middle School, where I became a member of the school’s Oratorical Club. The club gave me an opportunity to strengthen my speaking skills, practice presenting in front of others, and learn how to organize my thoughts into a message that could connect with an audience.
Through the Oratorical Club, I competed in the Optimist International Oratorical Contest and earned 1st Place at the Town Lake Optimist Club competition. I later advanced to the district level, where I had the opportunity to compete against other student speakers.
At that age, I did not realize how much the experience would influence me. Preparing a speech, practicing it repeatedly, standing in front of judges, and learning to manage my nerves taught me that confidence does not mean you are never nervous. It means being prepared enough to speak even when you are.
Looking back, Oratorical Club became an important part of my public-speaking journey. It gave me an early opportunity to discover that I enjoyed using my voice to share ideas and helped build the confidence that I would later carry into broadcasting, leadership, college-level public speaking, and future speech competitions.