7th American Midwest Chinese Speech Contest Held

The competition was fierce! There were over 150 participants, from Chicago and its neighboring suburbs, were students from over a dozen secondary schools which offer Chinese programs. Their Chinese teachers, parents, friends, and other spectators enthusiastically listened to the contestants’ speeches, demonstrating their strong support of these students’ studying the Chinese language and culture.

After the four hours of competing, the judges tabulated their results and presented the awards for each group. The Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, one of the organizations sponsoring the event, gave out three Huayu Enrichment Scholarships to the contest winners. This year’s Huayu Enrichment Scholarships went to three students, one each from Loyola Academy, the University of Chicago Laboratory School, and Metea Valley High School.

The scholarships allow the students to go and enjoy a summer of language study in Taiwan. One of last year’s competition winners, Harrison Beard, a graduate of Naperville North High School told everyone about his experience, and how studying abroad is a great way to prepare essential job skills. He encouraged all the participants to continue studying Chinese and gain a wider global perspective.

The competition organizers thanked the students for their enthusiastic participation and their teachers for all their hard work preparing them so well.