On Monday, Feb. 10, the New York Mills Junior High speech team competed at Parkers Prairie. While the Eagles did not place as a team, the team did bring home several individual awards.

Daisy Lalum placed second in Poetry with a variety of poems from Gabbie Hanna’s poetry anthology Adultolescence that explores the unique pressures kids face when transitioning to adulthood in the 21st century, including the pressure to engage with social media.

Marissa Uselman placed fifth in Extemporaneous Reading. This year’s selections come from The Moth Presents: All These Wonders and The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley. Uselman draws a selection at random and is given 30 minutes to prepare an introduction and practice her delivery before performing.

Julia Johnson placed first in Great Speeches with her analysis of former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s 2012 speech to parliament using a simplification of Bitzer’s Rhetorical Situation.

Wolfgang Kawleski placed fifth in Humor with Leon Kaye’s monologue, Cooking on the Street, which tells the story of a man named Jimmy the Finger who starts his own cooking show to pay back his debts.

Ellie Koshenina placed third in Drama with Deborah Karczeski’s monologue, Sassy and the Boss, which follows a young woman as she navigates the aftermath of sexual assault.

Henry Huebsch placed fifth in Storytelling. This year’s fables/folktales revolve around the topic of courage. Huebsch draws a story at random and is given 30 minutes to prepare an introduction and practice retelling the well-known fable in his own words for a modern audience.

Miley Guck and Hadlie Lien earned Excellence in Duo with Carl L. William’s dramatic duet, Flowers from Our Father, which tells the story of two sisters who grieve their late father in different ways.

Makenna Brunko earned Superior in Poetry with poems by various authors about the devastating consequences of bullying in high school.

On Friday, Feb. 14, the NY Mills speech team competed at Detroit Lakes’ Loquacious Laker (Valentine’s Day Edition) Invitational. This was an extremely competitive meet. Individual awards went to the following students:

• Elijah Geiser – second place in Poetry with his interpretation of the poem “Ren” by Ren Gills.

• Payton Lausten – second place in Prose with her Interpretation of Taylor Jenkin Reid’s New York Times Bestselling Novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo.

• Brooke Sonsalla – fifth place in Discussion (this year’s discussion tasks surround the nature of work post-pandemic).

• Soren Stout – Honorable Mention in Discussion.

• Daisy Lalum – Honorable Mention in Poetry with her poetry program about the unique pressures adolescents face in the 21st century, including the pressure to engage with social media.