Every year, Belmont Hill offers upper school students two opportunities to practice their public speaking skills in the Woodbury Speaking Contest. The Woodbury’s are a time when the school community is brought together to hear from multiple students offering a wide range of perspectives. In the semi-final of the Woodbury contest this fall, six speakers, representing each form in the Upper School, presented speeches with a wide range of topics. In the first Woodbury chapel, junior Cam Connell gave an insightful speech about the importance of fiction and its potentially impactful role in each of our lives. Nate Voss gave a hilarious speech about his misadventures in his previous middle school and the lessons he learned about the privileges of teenage boys compared to their female peers. With the last speech of the first chapel, junior Jack Abbrecht gave a thought-provoking speech about the importance of asking questions and being comfortable with not knowing something. The first three speeches proved an auspicious start to the fall Woodbury season.
Following the first chapel, the second group of speeches in the semi-finals were equally compelling. The first speech from senior David Carter detailed his time as a Boy Scout and his adventures hiking in the mountains. Second came junior Luca Mezzanotte, who spoke eloquently about the trials of his grandparents and his dad’s fight with cancer. Lastly, junior Josh Houston-Davis spoke about his often-meandering creativity and how that impacts his life experiences.
In the finals, Jack Abbrecht, David Carter, and Cam Connell all reflected on the importance of slowing down and enjoying the day to day of life at school and beyond. Ultimately, Cam was declared the winner. Ms. Zener offered “congratulations to Cameron and the finalists for a wonderful round of speeches.” If you are interested in future public speaking opportunities at Belmont Hill, reach out to Ms. Zener for more information.
