Student off to Legion public speaking provincial finals
Lauren Sytnyk has literally talked her way into the provincial finals for this year’s Royal Canadian Legion’s Public Speaking Contest.
To get to this point, Sytnyk, a Grade 10 student at Our Lady of the Wayside Catholic School, had to win first place at four progressively more difficult levels of the contest.
She clinched her seat at the provincial finals, set for May 4 in Etobicoke, with a first place finish in the senior division on April 20. The youth will be competing against the best public speakers in the province for the coveted $1,000 prize.
Sytnyk’s speech is about the benefits of learning a second language, including expanded job opportunities and being able to communicate with family members.
Although her mother is fluent in Polish, Sytnyk explained that the family only ever spoke English at home. A year and a half ago, however, she decided to start learning Polish.
“I soon discovered that I had a deep love and desire for learning languages,” she said in a press release.
“I chose this topic for my speech because of my passion for languages, and because I believe it resonates with who I am as a human. It is my wish that everyone who has heard me speak will be inspired to learn a new language.”
Sytnyk is proud to have made it this far in the contest and is feeling “confident,” in the sense “that I know I have done the best I can do, and I’ve put my best foot forward.”
However, she noted, the level of competition at the provincial level is so high, she doesn’t know what to expect.
“I am not feeling nervous at all for the competition because I know that everyone who has made it this far is already a winner,” stated Sytnyk. “Win or lose, I am so grateful for having made it this far.”
Dr. John Jalsevac, the headmaster of Chesterton Academy of Our Lady of the Wayside, noted he and the entire school are extremely proud of Lauren’s accomplishment.
“As a classical school, Wayside puts a strong focus on the importance of the art of rhetoric. Every year, all of our students deliver memorized speeches in front of the whole school, with the top speakers being sent on to the Legion’s contest. Lauren’s speech captivated the whole school when she delivered it at our in-house contest,” continued Jalsevac.
“I’m not in the least surprised that the Legion’s judges have been as impressed as we all were. The whole school will be rooting for her on May 4.”
Our Lady of the Wayside is a private kindergarten-to-Grade-12 school in Peterborough which seeks to offer families a rich, wellrounded education in the Catholic, classical, liberal arts tradition for their children.