Tired of winning?
For three Saints Peter and Paul High School student-orators, the answer seems to be a resounding “No!”
Beginning January 29, Kathryn Murphy, Will Coughlan, and Conner Bryan have been steadily winning contests and scholarships, in both the Knights of Columbus and the American Legion Oratorical Contests… with more to come, as two of the student-orators have advanced to the American Legion’s State Finals on March 23.
The Regina Coeli Council of the Knights of Columbus conducted the oratorical contest in the school’s auditorium at the end of January, providing content, judging, and scholarships. The Knights subsequently were pleased to announce – and distribute prizes to – the winners at a school assembly in the Regina Coeli Council’s first annual Oratorical Contest on the U.S. Constitution at Saints Peter and Paul High School.
Senior Kathryn Murphy was named champion, Sophomore Will Coughlan finished second, and Senior Conner Bryan finished third.
The three students’ creative and effective presentations ranged from James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln quotes to the historical context of the Magna Carta, King George, and Machiavelli, and the complementary nature of various Articles of the Constitution.
Champion Kathryn Murphy, who will soon be headed to the University of Pennsylvania, earned all three judges’ highest score for her speech on how and whether the Articles of the U.S. Constitution do – or do not – preserve the sanctity of life. She concluded it does, and confidently proclaimed:
Just as history’s human rights activists went beyond the comfortable to change the Constitution for the protection of all human beings, so must we do now.
As champion of the Knights of Columbus/Saints Peter and Paul High School Oratorical Contest, Kathryn received a $1,500 scholarship award from the Regina Coeli Council.
The Oratorical Contest at Saints Peter and Paul High School is precisely modeled after – and prefatory to – the American Legion’s Oratorical Contest on the U.S. Constitution which is comprised of an eight-to-ten-minute speech followed by a second round of a shorter oration on one of four Constitutional Articles or Amendments chosen at random by the contest organizers. The student-orators know the four Articles of the Constitution in advance, but not which one will be assigned.
Two days after her well-deserved Knights of Columbus triumph at SSPP High School, Kathryn on February 1 won the American Legion Easton Post’s contest, earning a $300 award, and she then subsequently won the American Legion District championship in Centreville, earning an additional $500 in the aggregate $2,300… and counting.
Kathryn goes on to the American Legion Maryland State Finals in Towson on March 23, with the winner going on to the American Legion National Finals at Hillsdale College in Michigan, an all-expenses-paid trip for the state winners and their parents with the opportunity to win the $25,000 first prize.
Will Coughlan, the second-place finisher in the Knights of Columbus/Saints Peter and Paul High School Oratorical Contest, earned a $500 award. Only a Sophomore, Will shows great promise for the next two years’ oratorical contests. He finished second to Kathryn three times – at SSPP and subsequently at the American Legion Post and District levels, earning a total of $1,300.
Conner Bryan, the third-place finisher at SSPP, earned a $200 award. Conner lives in Dorchester County, unlike Kathryn and Will, and therefore competed in American Legion Post and District contests in Cambridge and Salisbury, winning both unopposed and totaling $1,200 in awards (and counting). Like Kathryn, Conner has advanced to the American Legion Maryland State Finals in Towson on March 23 and the significant opportunities available there.
Kathryn and Conner are two of only five student-orators competing at the American Legion’s Maryland State Finals, so there statistically is a 40-percent chance a Saints Peter and Paul High School student will be the American Legion Maryland State Champion. Best wishes to our two local champions.
Next on the agenda for the Regina Coeli Council of the Knights of Columbus at Saints Peter and Paul High School are this Spring’s third annual Essay Contests on Faith/Word of God for ninth graders, and Patriotism/American Greatness for tenth graders — and a similar theme to be determined for the newly added Essay Contest for eleventh graders.
The primary goals of the partnership between the Knights of Columbus and Saints Peter and Paul High School are to: (1) improve the communication skills of our students – both written and oral (strong communication skills being one of the keys to later success in life); (2) enhance and invigorate our students’ Faith and patriotism; (3) engender a deeper understanding of – and greater appreciation for – our U.S. Constitution and its framers; and (4) positively further differentiate Saints Peter and Paul High School from all other high schools on the Eastern Shore.
Beyond the financial awards, these contests instill confidence in the participants, and perpetually strengthen their university, internship, and job applications. Who isn’t impressed by initiative and the ability to communicate well?
Moreover, how long would it take stocking shelves, mowing lawns, or babysitting to make “$2,300 and counting”?
Congratulations Kathryn, Will, and Conner!
If you are interested in: (1) financially supporting – at any level — the Essay and Oratorical Contests (naming rights are available for each of the contests if you wish to honor a family member, or a religious, military, or political hero); (2) attending the worthwhile June 5 Awards Ceremony/Dinner (at which we will invite the winning essayists to read their essays, among other aspects of the religious and patriotic program); and/or (3) you are a Catholic male aged 18 or older and would like more information about joining the Knights of Columbus – please contact Mark de Bernardo at [email protected].
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