On Saturday, February 18, 2017, middle school, high school, and college/university students from the Greater Houston area and neighboring towns competed in the 28th Annual Houston Regional Japanese Language Speech Competition.
A record 75 participants showcased their determination, devotion and tenacity as language learners for the chance to advance to the TEXAS STATE JAPANESE LANGUAGE COMPETITION, which will be held on March 4, 2017.
Special recognition was given to the top three contestants in each competition division. The top two contestants from the region will advance to State.
Congratulations to the following students:
POETRY:
1st Natalia Garcia Sanchez | George Bush High School
2nd Pirzada Hasnain | Morton Ranch High School
3rd Thomas Girardet | Bellaire High School
HAIKU:
1st Mario DePavia | Clements High School
2nd Doris Tang | Clements High School
3rd Melany Santos | Westside High School
SKIT:
1st “The New Year’s Race for the Kagami Mochi” | Bellaire High School
– Courtney Collier, Leslie Diaz, Tin-Yi Lii, and Rebecca Parsons
2nd “A Principal’s Perplexity" | Bellaire High School
– Ruth Beaubrun, Seven Bunch, Julia Gay, and Arlenn Maldonado,
3rd “Valentine’s Vending machine: A love story" | Cinco Ranch High School
– Andrew Giang, Zoha Hussnain, and Nadaa Koubaa
FREE SPEECH WITH TEXT:
1st Jiaqi Zhu | Bellaire High School
2nd James Sagun | Clements High School
3rd Gustavo Rivera | Westside High School
FREE SPEECH – AURORA:
1st Hannah Al-Natoor | Clements High School
2nd Hui Song | Clements High School
3rd Anthony Chang | Clements High School
FREE SPEECH – COLLEGE / UNIVERSITY:
1st Cyrus Ghaznavi | Rice University
2nd Chardonae Givens | University of Houston
3rd Jessica Ramirez | Texas A&M University
SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE WHO SUPPORT MADE THE CONTEST POSSIBLE:
- Consulate-General of Japan in Houston
- University of St. Thomas Center for International Studies
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)
- Japanese Teachers Association of Texas
- Countless volunteers