For the first time in ten years, Dickinson held a campus-wide Public Speaking Contest. Christopher Francese, professor of classical studies, and Sophie Jones ’28, hosted this year’s contest with the prompt: “This idea changed the way I see the world.” The competition had two preliminary rounds, one semifinal round and one final round. The seven finalists were Ayesha Siddiqui ’27, Claire Raesly ’27, Michael Wymer ’25, Tiara McKinney , ’25, Max Abah ’27, Sam Ritschel ’26 and Jack Scantland ’28. Each of the finalists spoke about a moment that occurred at Dickinson that changed their view of the world. All speeches were written by the respective contestant.

Siddiqui shared a story about stress and learning to manage grief. Raesly described how an environmental studies project changed her understanding of humans’ environmental imprint. Wymer talked about the loss of self while learning about the Bosnian diaspora in Carlisle. McKinney discussed “street-level bureaucracy” (service workers who have direct access with the public) and its impact on her personally and professionally. Abah discussed humankind’s superpower, physical and mental stamina. Ritschel paralelled her experience with self-acceptance to Roman history and poetry. Scantland described his experience speaking a southern dialect at a northern college, and how those experiences impacted him as a future Writing Center tutor. 

All seven finalists were awarded prize money funded by the Burgess Institute for the Global Economy. Scantland walked away with first place and a prize of $400. 2nd place and $250 went to Abah and 3rd place and $150 to Wymer, followed by Ritschel, McKinney, Raesly and Siddiqui, who each won $100. Each of the contestants were talented and gave impactful speeches. Jones confirmed that she is coordinating with Professor Amy McKiernan of the philosophy department to host the speech contest next year.