On Sunday, February 24th Lafayette’s speech team competed in the Bluegrass Area Japanese Speech Contest. The contest took place at Atherton High School in Louisville, Kentucky.

The competition has five levels: High School Beginner, High School Intermediate, High School Advanced, College Beginner, and College Intermediate/Advanced. In addition to this, students could enter the contest with a short skit.

Lafayette students entered the contest with three different skits. Those who entered the contest with a skit were not scored and did not place in the contest. Instead, they were awarded with a certificate and an Amazon gift card.

The three skits were:

“Japanese Train Etiqutte,” performed by Neleh Longworth, Maya Mitu, Lorelai Watson, Claire Melvin, and Jonathan Vargas, “KFC Conundrum,” performed by Lindsey Sargent, Sarah McPherson, and Logan Shelton, and “Welcome to Osaka Breakfast!” which was performed by Destiny Napier and Xinyi Dong.

In addition to these skits, three Lafayette students entered the contest with speeches. These students are Brayden Giannone, Neleh Longworth, and Toby Rasmussen. Brayden Giannone entered with a brief introduction of himself and his family members. Neleh Longworth entered with a speech titled, “The World.” They received an honorable mention for the third level, (High School Advanced). Toby Rasmussen entered with a speech titled, “Music is My Life.” He recieved the Grand Prize for level three.