Daniella Wilson won first in state and advances to nationals in the American Legion oratorical contest.
She Prepares for Legion Nationals in April
Brentwood School junior Daniella Wilson, who won the American Legion Post 283, District and Area Oratorical Contests, triumphed at the State Competition in Clovis on March 3.
Her eight-minute speech “Rediscovering the Constitutional Virtue of Compromise,” which she wrote and delivered without notes, earned her $400 at the Post level, $500 at the District level, $600 from the Area contest and $1,200 at the State level.
Wilson now advances to the Nationals in Indianapolis, April 5-7, where the top prize is an $18,000 scholarship. Wilson will automatically receive $700 just from competing at that level. In the first round, she will face contestants from Colorado, Rhode Island, Montana, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Only one will be selected to advance to the semi-finals.
In a prior CTN story, one judge described Wilson as “Manifestly confident, she opened with the question, setting an intimate tone as if she were in conversation with us. ‘Why has the Constitution endured for two centuries?’ she asked. Her answer: ‘compromise,’ which the drafters understood when trying to write a document that would ensure fair representation for both the small states and large and help to maintain a balance of power in government.”
In addition to preparing an eight-minute speech, participants must be ready to deliver a three- to five-minute speech on one of four amendments: Amendment 1, Amendment 4, Amendment 13 and Amendment 21.
“out of the mouths of babes . . . “