On May 1, 2024, FHS hosted this year’s ELD speech competition, featuring students from the ELD department from four out of the five schools in the district. The competition required students to compose a three to five minute speech fully in English. 

ELD 1 students Azriel Amador Ponce and Luna Briceno Barahona both competed at the competition, presenting their speeches on topics they were passionate about. 

“[My first round] was good,” Amador Ponce said. “It was going good because I didn’t read my paper. So I think it was pretty memorized.”

Students had the option to use their scripts to aid them during their presentation. However, the more memorized they were, the better the scores they would receive from judges.

The informative aspect of the competition allowed students the freedom to choose whichever topic they wanted to present. Amador Ponce discussed the opportunities that open up for individuals in the U.S. and Briceno Barahona performed her speech about dragons. 

“[My favorite part is] when I present with people and my friends,” Briceno Barahona said.

With students coming from all over the district and with different backgrounds, students had the opportunity to interact with a diverse set of individuals and meet new people. During the break, students were able to eat free tacos and be around their friends and other competitors. 

“We know new friends and it’s good,” Amador Ponce said. 

FHS student Rotem Ben David and Aarushi Kulshretha judged the competition, and reflected on their experiences. As volunteer judges, they were able to watch and evaluate performances across different experience levels and backgrounds. 

“It was a really positive experience and I think everyone should take part,” Kulshretha said. “It’s great to see how people have learned their second, third, maybe fourth language and given such excellent speeches on such niche topics.” 

Kulshretha, a current sophomore, also voiced her appreciation for the camaraderie fostered from this event. Despite the different schools, backgrounds and language levels, it allowed students to connect with each other in unique ways.

“It’s just great to see that vibrant community that people on campus don’t interact with as much,” Kulshretha said.

Ben David, another current sophomore, corroborated Kulshtretha’s positive statements about the tournament. As a past ELD student, she was greatly inspired by the students’ performances and their willingness to give a speech, which can be a challenging task. 

“I love to see how students opened up while they were talking about topics that they were so passionate about, even if you can see in the beginning that it was a little tough for them,” Ben David said. “You can see that they overcame stage fright, just because they knew that this is something that they practiced, something that they were confident about,” 

Overall, this event can be considered a success for everyone who participated, including many FHS students who won their event. Congratulations to everyone who competed.