By Robert A. Emmanuel
Pitting his oratorical skills against several other young competitors from across the region, 14-year-old St Joseph’s Academy student Uchenna Ohaegbulam impressed both judges and the audience even though he didn’t win this year’s regional competition in Jamaica.
His chaperone, Chandera Codrington, told Observer that Ohaegbulam—who returned home last week—placed fourth out of 10 participants in the keenly adjudged Optimist Oratorical Contest.
“It was a very stiff competition, so much so that the judge deliberated for an hour, and even then they needed more time to deliberate, so that is to show how stiff the competition was,” she said.
Codrington noted that Ohaegbulam only missed out on the third spot by one point and impressed the judges to the extent that they wanted to maintain contact with the young student.
Ohaegbulam was victorious in the local leg of the annual competition put on by the Optimist Club of St John’s earlier this year, where he presented on the topic “Discovering the optimism within me”.
Established in 1928, the Optimist Oratorical Contest is the longest-running programme sponsored by Optimist International.
The contest is designed for youth to gain experience in public speaking, perfect self-expression, gain self-assurance, improve communication skills, and have the opportunity to compete for a college scholarship.
Nakiata Gordon of the Sunset Optimist Club of Kingston, Jamaica, who emerged the overall winner, received a US$2,500 scholarship.
Second placed was Daniella Clarke of the Optimist Club of Barbados, Bridgetown, who was awarded a US$1,500 scholarship, while Abigail Murphy of the Optimist Club of York Castle, Jamaica, placed third and received a US$1,000 scholarship.