The contest will be held May 16-18 on the historic campus of Hillsdale College, where the high school participants will compete for over $203,000 in scholarships.
The American Legion’s National Oratorical Contest, a high school speech contest on the U.S. Constitution, is May 16-18 in Hillsdale, Mich., where 50 students will compete to earn a top three spot in the finals.
The students won their respective American Legion post, district and department oratorical contest to advance to the national contest held on the campus of Hillsdale College. They will compete for over $203,000 in scholarships. Each department (state) winner who participates in the national contest’s first round receives a $2,000 scholarship. The 18 semifinalists will receive an additional $2,000. And the three finalists will compete for first place and a $25,000 scholarship. Second and third place will earn $22,500 and $20,000 respectively.
The contest will begin Saturday, May 17, on the campus of Hillsdale College, where all 50 competitors will be divided into nine groups for the quarterfinals. The competitors will give a prepared eight- to 10-minute oration on the U.S. Constitution and a three- to five-minute oration on an assigned topic discourse – a phase of the Constitution selected from Articles and Sections – in front of judges and family members. The top 18 will advance to the semifinal round to again present their prepared oration and assigned topics.
Following the semifinal round, the top three finalists will advance to the final competition at 10 a.m. ET Sunday, May 18. The finals will be streamed on The American Legion’s YouTube channel.
2025 department oratorical winners and their sponsoring American Legion post:
Alabama: Prestley Skelton, Post 23, Graysville
Alaska: Margaret Borges, Post 35, Wasilla
Arizona: Tanish Doshi, Post 132, Oro Valley
Arkansas: Nadia Young, Post 111, Crossett
California: Dwayne Famenia, Post 817, Pacoima
Colorado: Temiloluwa Bello, Post 23, Denver
Connecticut: Maggie Fleischer, Post 3, Stamford
Delaware: Zimo Liu, Post 30, New Castle
Florida: William Kiker, Post 296, Destin
France: Miles Grussing, Post BE02, Brussels, Belgium
Georgia: Allison Yang, Post 140, Buckhead
Hawaii: Sophia Victorino, Post 17, Honolulu
Idaho: Eliana Cecil, Post 16, Mackay
Illinois: Chaithrika Sripathi, Post 43, Naperville
Indiana: Ella Christensen, Post 3, Indianapolis
Iowa: Karli Roth, Post 737, Waukee
Kansas: Haven Knapp, Post 326, Bern
Kentucky: Grayson Beckham, Post 275, Independence
Louisiana: Luke Harris, Post 241, Lafayette
Maine: Caroline Straw, Post 35, South Portland
Maryland: Kathryn Murphy, Post 70, Easton
Massachusetts: Nuha Salam, Post 50, Clinton
Michigan: Brianna Zhang, Post 36
Minnesota: Elijah Cox, Post 134, Walker
Mississippi: Elizabeth Carpenter, Post 2022, Olive Branch
Missouri: Gretchen House, Post 125, Springfield
Montana: Carmen Katzenberger, Post 15, Harlowton
Nebraska: Ella Brennemann, Post 90, Valentine
Nevada: Alexander Hetey, Post 40, Henderson
New Hampshire: Adele Debowski, Post 23, Milford
New Jersey: Ean Soh, Post 1, Leonia
New Mexico: Alexandria Landavazo, Post 81, Belen
New York: Katherine Mazaroski, Post 1718, Carle Place
North Carolina: Jamar Harris, Post 322, Morganton
North Dakota: Danielle Nusz, Post 29, Watford City
Ohio: Patience Persing, Post 194, Mason
Oklahoma: Jesse LeBahn, Post 88, Norman
Oregon: Mark Saunders, Post 96, Vale
Pennsylvania: Jackson Sauders, Post 343, New Castle
Rhode Island: Rishi Gokhale, Post 43, Warwick
South Carolina: Josiah Osborne, Post 128, Harleyville
South Dakota: Elena Anderws, Post 72, Beresford
Tennessee: Gina Harjani, Post 202, Gatlinburg
Texas: Evelyn Fisher, Post 575, Lubbock
Utah: Simon Parnell, Post 27, Farmington
Vermont: Hadley Butler, Post 3, Montpelier
Virginia: Helenasadat Hosseini, Post 295, Middleburg
Washington: Mary Crosby, Post 91, Burlington
West Virginia: Juliann Harlan, Post 29, Elkins
Wisconsin: Peter Bott, Post 91, Oconomowoc
- Oratorical