Colton, CA—Three of Colton’s juniors took the top three prizes at today’s Rotary Club speech event, held at the CJUSD district office.

Aubree Gonzales took top honors for her speech about the importance of recognizing and helping teens cope with anxiety disorder. Allyson Mejia took second, and Diana Ruvalcaba took third.

The Rotary Club speech competition is an annual event. Students from high schools in the district compete for cash prizes. First place takes home $150, second $100, and third $50.

“I was so happy, I almost cried,” said Gonzales. “I’m really excited to go to the next round.”

Allyson Mejia, who spoke the importance of respecting homosexual rights, said “My past inspired me to write my speech. When Ms. Leyva told us the topic, I just did something I could be passionate about.”

Lucy Leyva is the speech advisor. She has been working with her students for the last few weeks, and had them audition for a spot on the team. Seven Yellowjackets qualified out of a field of 12: Cherlin Cruz, Selena Fernandez, Jessica Gudiel and Selena Fernandez rounded out the rest of Colton’s team.

“The Rotary Club is a great organization for students to practice their public speaking,” Leyva shared. “They get to learn all about the four-way test, which will help guide their decision making in the future. Plus, they get to practice their rhetorical skills.”

The four-way test is the Rotary Club’s guiding principles. In their speeches, students are asked to measure their ideas by this test, which asks four questions: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build better goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned? 

Gonzales’ first place speech earned her spot in the Rotary district competition. She will compete on Mar. 8, location to be announced.