Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Coquitlam Student Places Second in Optimist Pacific Northwest District Oratorical Contest


Selin Jessa, a student at Charles Best Senior Secondary, has won a $1500 scholarship in Optimist International’s Pacific Northwest District Oratorical Contest held in Newport, Oregon, on May 22.

Students from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia, advanced through three levels of competition to reach the district finals, where Selin placed second. Noel Lai of Vancouver, BC, placed first, winning a $2500 scholarship.

Selin was sponsored by the Coquitlam Optimist Club. She won the club’s Oratorical Contest, placed second in the Fraser Valley zone contest and first in the British Columbia regional competition on her way to the district finals.

The Optimist Oratorical Contest was open to students under the age of 16 as of December 31, 2009. Each contestant presented a 4-5 minute speech on the topic “Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem?”