Historic Extemporaneous Speaking Contest Crowns Its Victors

On Friday, December 8, the Hector J. Hughes Extemporaneous Speaking Contest delighted a Fenn community audience of students, faculty, staff, parents, and guests in Ward Hall as it has done for decades since the tradition was born at the School in 1950.

Sixteen students across Grades 6-9 earned their spots in the finals of the competition after experiencing great success in the prior rounds of auditions. They all took to the finals stage poised and ready to receive a creative topic that they would have mere moments to consider before being called into the spotlight by emcee David Duane to deliver their best brand of storytelling. Participants included sixth grader Ross Wein; seventh graders Arda Akay, Henry Bonzagni, Phinneas Clarke-Talhouni, Landan Cleary, Peter Mokoro, Hugh Morgan, and Warren Turner; and eighth graders Remy Csendes, Yang Lu, Jimmy McLaughlin, Cass Myler, Sean Park, Patch Remington, Romir Vishwanath, and Kyle Wang.  

The competition was fierce, leaving the judging panel locked in a spirited debate over the students that should be named the victors. Judges for the 2023 contest were Kyle Butler, Assistant Director of Admission & Coordinator of Multicultural Outreach; Ryan Magnuson, Director of Learning Support Services; and Becca Newhouse, Human Resource Coordinator and Payroll & Benefits Administrator.

Honorable Mention prizes ultimately went to eighth grader Kyle Wang for his response to "If you could tame any mythical creature, here is what it should be" and seventh grader Peter Mokoro for his animated storytelling responding to "I can secretly speak to animals. Here's what they're saying." The top prize was handily secured by eighth grader Jimmy McLaughlin, whose confidence, character development, and humor were all on point during a response to: "How I won a Mr. Beast Challenge."

Bravo to all finalists and to English Department Chair Jill MacKinnon for spearheading the historic contest!