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Participants cheering each other on during the competition.<\/p>\nMiddle and junior high school students took the stage Thursday evening at City Centre in downtown Bakersfield for the 41st annual Henry Greve Speech Contest, delivering passionate speeches on the prompt: \u201cIs America Still the Land of Opportunity?\u201d<\/p>\n
For eighth grader Aleksia Rodriguez Solorio, the topic was a powerful motivator.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat really brought me to this speech is the privilege to voice your opinion \u2014 to speak up about what you believe in,\u201d Solorio said. \u201cThat\u2019s something many people don\u2019t have, and having that ability, and the right to speak in front of a crowd \u2014 I love it. Any chance I get, I take it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Solorio, an eighth grader from La Vi\u00f1a Middle School in the Delano Union Elementary School District, captivated both judges and audience members, earning first place in her very first speech competition. Her message connected current events to the broader question of opportunity in America.<\/p>\n
Participants cheering each other on during the competition.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say that being more afraid and keeping that opinion to yourself may be doing more harm than voicing it,\u201d Solorio added. \u201cYou will never lose anything from speaking what you believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n
That sentiment was echoed by fellow competitor Savyaa Vyas, who emphasized the importance of confidence when sharing one\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether you\u2019re on the positive side or the negative side, don\u2019t be afraid to show who you are and be confident,\u201d Vyas said. \u201cConfidence is key.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 1963, the contest has been held in memory of Henry Greve, a Kern County speech therapist who was killed in an auto accident. Greve, a member of the Bakersfield Toastmasters Club, helped organize the Junior Toastmasters Club in Kern County. The organization\u2019s mission is to provide supportive learning experiences that help individuals develop communication and leadership skills, fostering confidence and personal growth.<\/p>\n
For many students, the competition is not just about winning, but about growth and opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my first speech competition, and I had so much fun,\u201d said seventh grader Ariane Park, who earned second place. \u201cI\u2019m a seventh grader and I got second place \u2014 that makes me ecstatic! Just wait until next year. I\u2019m definitely going to do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n
2026 Results:<\/p>\n
1st \u2014 Aleksia Rodriguez Solorio, La Vi\u00f1a Middle School (Delano Union Elementary School District)<\/p>\n
2nd \u2014 Ariane Park, Warren Jr. High (Panama-Buena Vista Union School District)\u00a0<\/p>\n
3rd \u2014 Savyaa Vyas, Warren Jr. High (Panama-Buena Vista Union School District)<\/p>\n
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Aleksia Rodriguez Solorio delivering her speech centered on the prompt: \u201cIs America Still the Land of Opportunity?\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Savyaa Vyas, Aleksia Rodriguez Solorio, and Ariane Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Middle and junior high school students took the stage Thursday evening at City Centre in downtown Bakersfield for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":230105,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-230104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=230104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/230104\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/230105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=230104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=230104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=230104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}