MS Speech Contest Attends to Hunger in America

Twelve Montverde Academy Middle School students participated in the annual MS speech contest last month. The contest, which was held at Montverde Academy, allowed students to share their presentations relating to this year’s topic: Hunger in America.  Congratulations to the victors – the 3^rd place winner was Matthew Tollini, 2^nd place was Kendyl Cardwell, and 1^st place was a tie shared by Bella Crider and Tyler Fricker.

It’s been comprehensively documented that food insecurity and poverty in the United States – especially with individuals and families experiencing unemployment and low assets – lead to a lack of access to adequate, nutritious food.  According to the website of speech contest sponsor Modern Woodmen of America School, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that “… 48.1 million people lived in food-insecure households in 2013. This means that at some points during the year, their households were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food because of insufficient resources. Approximately 8.6 million of these individuals were children. Students are asked to explore this issue of hunger in America from an individual, local, state or national perspective.”

Montverde Academy MS students who competed in the speech contest were given an opportunity to demonstrate their public speaking skills and offer their unique perspectives on the plight of hunger in the United States. Modern Woodmen’s School Speech Contest is one of many free Youth Educational Programs Modern Woodmen offers to schools nationwide. More than 100,000 students compete in the contest each year. Founded in 1883 as a fraternal benefit society, Modern Woodmen of America offers financial services and fraternal member benefits to individuals and families throughout the United States.

The 2016 Middle School Speech Contest finalists were:

8^th Graders

Judy Hassanein

Jesse Jones

Molly Smith

Noah Tatlonghari

7^th Graders

Kendyl Cardwell

Bella Crider

Aidan Fracker

Alia Rodriguez

6^th Graders

Sam Boardman

Ashley Conklin

Tyler Fricker

Matthew Tollini

L to R: Kendyl Cardwell 2nd Place Tyler Fricker & Bella Crider Tied for 1st place Matthew Tollini 3rd place