High school orators from South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington state will compete in the Constitutional speech contest Sunday at 10 a.m. Watch it live.
High school students from South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington have edged out 46 orators competing in the 86th American Legion National Oratorical Contest on the campus of Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Mich., to secure their spot as a top three finalist.
Elena Andrews of Beresford, S.D., Gina Harjani of Gatlinburg, Tenn., and Mary Crosby of Burlington, Wash., will compete in the finals on May 18 for a chance to win first place and a $25,000 scholarship. Second and third place will earn $22,500 and $20,000 respectively.
The finals will be held at 10 a.m. Eastern on Sunday. Watch the competition live here.
This is the third time for Andrews to make it to the national competition, but her first time as a top three finalist.
“Third time’s a charm, I guess. It’s amazing,” said Andrews, a senior at Beresford High School who participated in South Dakota Auxiliary Girls State and Girls Nation last summer. “I really enjoy the contest. It has been a lot of fun to learn, to make different connections, and my grandma pushed me really hard to do this contest and do the best I could. It’s a family affair.”
She is a fourth generation to be in the contest. Her great-grandmother, grandmother, aunt and mom have all competed. “I’m really big into the FFA (Future Farmers of America), but I would definitely credit The American Legion and Auxiliary for being the second-best influence in my life,” Andrews said. “A big thank you to The American Legion for sponsoring this. It gives us the younger generation such motivation and aspiration to look up to. We as young citizens have to continue carrying that on. I think that’s the importance of supporting youth programs.”
Harjani, a senior at Gatlinburg Pittman High School and a 2024 Tennessee Girls State participant, credits the American Legion Family for giving her “so much. I’m thrilled to be able to compete with so many amazing young high school students, and I’m grateful to be able to make it into the finals.”
This is her first time competing in the contest, and with an interest in the Constitution and law school, she thought it would be a perfect fit. “I’m really glad that I did it because it’s turned out very well for me,” she said. “I’m beyond grateful to be able to make it to the finals and tomorrow. I just want to go in and give the best performance, to give it my all, and be competing with two other great American Legion oratorical speakers.”
The National Oratorical Contest got underway Saturday morning with participants divided into nine groups for the quarterfinals. Standing before judges and family members, the participants gave a prepared eight-to-10-minute oration on the U.S. Constitution and a three-to-five-minute oration on a phase of the Constitution selected from Articles and Sections. Following quarterfinals, the top 18 advanced to semifinals. Competitors from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New York, North Carolina, Washington, Georgia, South Dakota, Idaho, Utah, Michigan, California, Tennessee, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, Missouri and Kentucky again gave their prepared oration and speech on an assigned topic before judges. Each state winner who competed in quarterfinals will receive a $2,000 scholarship, and those who advance to semifinals will receive an additional $2,000 scholarship.
Ean Soh of Leonia, N. J., who advanced to the semifinal round, said the emotions coming into his first American Legion National Oratorical Contest was what you might expect – “excited, nervous, stressful but of course very grateful to be here.” Soh was sponsored by American Legion Post 1, and even though this is his first time competing in the contest as a senior, he was familiar with it.
“My history teacher is very passionate about the Constitution, and he’s been involved in this contest for many years,” said Soh, who watched his classmates participate in it at the post level and was “inspired to do it this year. It’s the first time anyone from Leonia High School has made it to the national level so this is exciting. I hope to make him (Collin) proud here.”
Evelyn Fisher, a homeschooler from Lubbock, Texas, is back at nationals for the second year. “I am so excited to be back here,” she said. “I love meeting everybody. I think a common thing we all find in our own towns or schools is that the people who work hard and do their best are few and far between. And to get 50 people who all work hard and are pursuing excellence in all things is really incredible.”
Fisher worried she wouldn’t be able to write another eight-to-10-minute speech on the Constitution. So last summer, she took a free online Constitution 101 class from Hillsdale College, “and it changed the way I think about everything with the Constitution,” she said. “I filled out an entire notebook of notes, and I was like, I think I can write another speech. I have learned so much through this whole process.”
- Oratorical