Amherst College’s annual Speaking Competition was held on Thursday, February 22, 2024. Student finalists (from all class years) wrote persuasive speeches based on this year’s theme, “Democracy.”
Award: Best Overall Persuasive Speech
Winner: Kamil Mahmood ’27
Speech title: “How to Scare a Military Dictator”
Award:Best Content in a Persuasive Speech
Winner: Spencer Michaels ’24
Speech title: “Distrust and Verify”
Award: Best Delivery of a Persuasive Speech
Winner: Jaimie Han ’26
Speech title: “North Korea”
Left to right: Susan Daniels, associate in public speaking with speech winners Jaimie Han ’26, Spencer Michaels ’24 and Kamil Mahmood ’27.
Susan Daniels, associate in public speaker (bottom row, far right) with the 8 undergraduates who entered the speech competition that focused on the theme of democracy.
Terrence Wu ’27 spoke about “War, Words, and Democracy.”
Margeaux Matz ’27 presenting her speech, “Loneliness is Eroding Our Democracy.”
Macy Li '27's entry into the speech competition was titled “Silenced Stories.”
Claire Beougher ’26 gave a speech, titled, “Trust Yourself, Believe in Democracy.”
Isaac Oh ’27's entry in the competition was titled “Friendly Neighborhood Citizen.”