From a childhood train fascination to Costco shopping with Dad, this year’s Woodbury Public Speaking contest provided the community with exciting stories and important lifelong messages. This year’s speakers, Nathan Zhang ’26, Charlie Maws ’26, Jin Lee ’26, Max Roman ’25, Cooper Tarlie, ’25, and Ross McKee ’25, all did a fantastic job.
Nathan kicked off the chapel by encouraging the audience to reflect on their first encounter with trains. He described his childhood obsession and how his love became embarrassing as he got older. Nonetheless, he learned to embrace his passion by designing a Roblox train game and researching sustainability in public transit. He closed his speech by encouraging the crowd not to dismiss passions and interests but rather to embrace them and use hobbies to impact the world.
Everybody has done something new and uncomfortable. Charlie began his speech by surveying the crowd, confirming that 100% of Belmont Hill students had done something scary and new. After comparing those experiences to speaking onstage, he reflected on his summer job, which forced him to face his fears and step out of his comfort zone. His speech demonstrated the importance of trying something new, even if it may be scary, as the reward is well worth it.
As a freshman and sophomore, Cooper was cut from the Varsity Baseball team but did not let this stop him from achieving his goals. Having faced failure multiple times, he took inspiration from the famed Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius to develop a stoic approach to life, allowing him to control and understand his strong emotions. He explained the importance of embracing failure to achieve a final goal.
“The only consistent thing about running is that it sucks,” Max explained. He listed endless things that could go wrong and lead to unfavorable outcomes during a run. Despite all the available excuses, he noted that it is a personal decision to give in or to fight. His takeaway was to control what you can control without letting the uncontrollable affect you.
In his speech, Jin addressed the topic of identity and going through life without regrets. After opening up with a cheesy joke, he reflected on how his involvement in the arts allowed him to break free from the narrow confines of being perceived solely as a hockey player. His message about pushing beyond the limitations of external expectations highlighted the importance of exploration and self-discovery in life.
Finally, Ross closed the chapel, reflecting on his tradition of shopping at Costco with his father. His frequent and funny jokes brought the entire chapel to laughter multiple times—he shared the all-too-relatable experience of being left stranded at the cashier, the whole line impatiently watching, waiting for a parent to return. At the end of his speech, Ross encouraged the audience to cherish all the little moments with loved ones and to make every moment count. “Ross’s Woodbury really encapsulated the Woodbury competition, as it brought together humor, a father-son anecdote, and life advice,” remarked Brady Paquette ’25.
All speeches exhibited excellence in both the writing and performance of their speeches this fall. The Panel congratulates Ross McKee ’25 as this year’s Fall Woodbury Contest winner and hopes to hear speeches just as engaging in the spring!
