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In a new all-school speech contest, students celebrate stepping out of their comfort zone

This year, as part of 91���� Northampton’s new all-school public-speaking curriculum, Upper School students wrote and refined personal stories on the topic of risk-taking, then went public with them in a way many people find risky in itself: delivering them onstage to a packed house of peers and faculty.

How It Worked Guided by English teachers, students began workshopping stories last fall. They developed their ideas into five-minute speeches about personal experiences, then presented their polished material in English class. Top storytellers advanced to all-grade assemblies, which in turn selected one student speaker. In February the four finalists—Izzy Jimah ’28, AJ Tanihaha ’27, Onion Quan ’26, and Chris Anderson ’25— took the stage in Phillips Stevens Chapel, delivering personal stories that were by turns poignant, funny, provocative, and uplifting. When the cheering finally stopped, a panel of judges selected junior Onion Quan as the overall winner of 91����’s 2025 public speaking contest.

What Did Students Learn? The easy answer is, of course, public speaking skills. But English Chair Matt Liebowitz noted that many students also learned about the importance of self-reflection. “Their reaction was surpisingly positive,” he said, “because the ball was in their court. It was them saying ‘Oh, I’ve had this experience and I get to share it.’ That was encouraging for teachers to see.”

Why It’s Important Talking about oneself doesn’t always come easily for students—all the less so when it involves a live audience. But the ability to confidently express thoughts in a public setting, from an oral presentation in college to a business meeting later in life, remains an important skill. Throughout the competition, kids pushed their boundaries, gaining experience in organizing and communicating information for maximum impact, and maybe even picking up some insights about themselves along the way. “This unit has made me realize I can do scary things,” says Addie Eakin ’27, “like get up in front of a lot of people with only six bullet points and one note card.”