South Valley Section Speaking Contest

On January 23 and 30, 2021 Shafter High FFA hosted the 2021 Speaking Competition. This year it was a little different compared to prior years. All the competitions were online in which was new to a lot of us. It was divided into two different weekends the first weekend was Creed, Prepared, and Job Interview. Creed’s purpose is to get members to have a strong belief in the industry of agriculture and the core values of citizenship and patriotism. This competition is at the freshman level. This year’s winners were Elizabeth Milar in 4th place and Natalia Crane in 5th place. In the Prepared competition, students write and deliver a six to eight-minute speech about a current agriculture-related topic. Students research a topic of interest and then put together a creative, informative speech. This year’s winners Ixchel Sanchez in 1st place and Mackiney Job in 5th place. The interview helps you succeed in future careers by developing the skills needed to seek employment in the industry of agriculture. It simulates real-world activities used by employers and tests student’s ability to perform effectively throughout the employment process. Students submit a cover letter and resume, complete an application, and participate in a face–to–face interview. This year we had one student place 6th place, Sofia Reyes. The following week was Impromptu and Extemp. Impromptu is to promote and improve the abilities of FFA members to communicate, as well as develop their self-confidence and contribute to their advancement in the achievement of interpersonal skills and the growth of leadership. The students have seven minutes to select a topic, brainstorm their ideas, outline the speech, and finally, deliver the speech without any notes. Extemp is based on a study and original review, a limited-preparation speech case. Lindsay Lee in 5th place and Vianey Padilla in 4th place were this year’s Wasco members that placed. Thank you to everyone that participated, all your hard work is very much appreciated. Here are a few of our participants from this year's speaking competition, as well as our members that placed.