Teen in quote of year final

A stereotype-challenging speech by a Mt Roskill teen has seen him as a finalist in Massey University’s Quote of the Year competition.

Earlier this year Joshua Isoefo gave an inspiring speech to his peers called ‘Brown Brother’. It encouraged Pasifika youth to break the mould.

The speech by the Mt Roskill Grammar prefect ended up on YouTube where it garnered the attention of television show Campbell Live.

The rhetorical question ‘‘Who needs to be able to quote Shakespeare if you can play rugby?’’ captured the attention of the nation and landed the 17-yearold on the list of top quotes.

The competition is organised by Heather Kavan, a speech-writing specialist at Massey University’s School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing.

Dr Kavan and her judging panel narrowed down the finalists from dozens of entries.

She says the best quotes are often short and are fun to say in different contexts.

‘‘We chose what we thought were the most memorable ones.

‘‘While delivery wasn’t critical, it inevitably influenced our decision,’’ she says.

Other finalists included ACT leader John Bank’s ‘‘I did not come up the river on a cabbage boat,’’ and ‘‘your dish was a car crash but all of the occupants survived’’, from MasterChef judge Josh Emett.

People were invited to vote on their favourite quote and the winner will be announced today.