While not everyone enjoys public
speaking, here at UW-L, five individuals have
been singled out for their public speaking
prowess and will be participating in the finale
of the Public Speaking Competition. The
competition is held each year and showcases
students who excel in public speaking. This
year, it will be held in 1309 Centennial Hall
on Tuesday, March 4 from 4-5:15 p.m.
The competition began in the fall of 2014
when 36 students of 1,200 were chosen from
their CST 110 classes to participate. Of the
36 students participated in the first round
of the competition, eight were selected to
compete in the semifinals. Now, the pool
has been narrowed to five finalists who are
all competing for the number one spot.
They will be tasked with persuading their
audiences of their chosen topic.
The first competitor, Cara Henney, is a
freshman. She is a political science major
with a minor in theater performance and is
honored to be chosen for this competition.
She will arguing for cleaner waterways in
Wisconsin and an advocacy to protect them
from harmful pollutants. Henney stated that
her job as a tour guide on the Wisconsin
River in the Wisconsin Dells led to her
choosing her topic.
Allison Shaver, a sophomore is majoring
in Secondary Education Biology and
Broadfield Science. This past September,
she began volunteering at the YMCA Teen
Center and wants to share how amazing her
experience through her presentation and
persuade college students to volunteer for
the La Crosse YMCA Teen Center. Shaver
aspires to make a difference in teenagers’
lives and can’t wait to begin a career in
teaching.
The next competitor is Adria Braley, a
freshman majoring in Spanish Education.
She will be persuading the audience to
stand up hate and bias incidents against
the LGTBQ community. Braley stated that
she chose this topic because it’s relevant to
campus, the community, as well as all ov er
the world. Her goal for the public speaking
competition is to spread awareness and act
as an agent of positive change for the wellbeing
of our world.
Samantha Mueller, a junior, is the
next competitor. Mueller is majoring
in Communication Studies with an
Organizational and Professional
Communications emphasis and minoring in
French. Her topic is to persuade the audience
to no longer ignore domestic violence. She
chose this topic because of her personal
ties to it and because it is an issue is often
overlooked. Mueller’s goal is to help others
in domestic violence situation to seek help
and see them to safety.
The final competitor is Carly Ferguson, a
freshman who wants to major in radiation
therapy. She will be persuading the audience
to eat healthier in college. Ferguson chose
her topic because she feels that many
students have become desensitized hearing
about health eating habits. She wants to
share that there are different options for
eating healthier and that it doesn’t have to be
a difficult undertaking.
The judges for the competition will
include Chancellor Joe Gow, Susan Schuyler,
a senior lecturer in communication studies,
and Bailey Benedict, Communication Club
president and peer consultant at the Public
Speaking Center.
Be sure to attend the Public Speaking
Competition Finale on March 4 and see if
one of these students can convince you