On Saturday, March 4, 2017, JASH and the Consulate-General of Japan in Houston hosted the 28th Annual Texas State Japanese Language Speech Competition.
51 participants - ranging from middle school students and life-long Japanese learners - gathered at Rice University to demonstrate their Japanese language skills.
The contest showcased students reciting poetry and presenting original speeches and, moreover, will feature a creative display of student determination, devotion, and tenacity as language learners through carefully crafted haiku and skits performed in Japanese.
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 Teagan WALTERS Winston Churchill High School (San Antonio) 9th
2nd Brennan MOHRER Claudia Taylor "Ladybird" Johnson (San Antonio) 10th
3rd Pirzada HASNAIN Morton Ranch High School (Houston) 12th
HAIKU
1st Elena MILLS Johnson High School (San Antonio) 12th
2nd Santiago HOFFMANN BREUSTEDT Winston Churchill High School (San Antonio) 10th
3rd Carlos VAZQUEZ Richardson High School (Dallas) 10th
SKIT
1st “The New Year’s Race for the Kagami Mochi” Bellaire High School (Houston)
Courtney COLLIER, Leslie DIAZ, Tin-Yi LII, Rebecca PARSONS
2nd “A Principal’s Perplexity” Bellaire High School (Houston)
Ruth BEAUBRUN, Seven BUNCH, Julia GAY, Arlenn MALDONADO,
3rd “Where’s the Money” L.V. Berkner High School (Dallas)
Kevin CO, Grayson DELUCAS, Syed FARDEEN, Basmah SAWALHI
FREE SPEECH WITH TEXT
1st Olivia ESH L.V. Berkner High School (Dallas) 11th
2nd Jiaqi ZHU Bellaire High School (Houston) 12th
3rd James SAGUN William P. Clements High School (Houston) 11th
FREE SPEECH AURORA
*1st Heewon HUH Newman Smith High School (Dallas) 11th
*2nd Hannah AL-NATOOR Clements High School (Houston) 12th
3rd Justin NGUYEN Richardson High School (Dallas) 12th
*1st and 2nd place winners will go on to compete in the National Aurora Japanese Language Speech Competition in Los Angeles, CA.
FREE SPEECH - COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
1st Andy XU University of Texas at Austin (Austin) Senior
2nd Ziqing Rika YU Baylor University (Dallas) Junior
3rd Cyrus GHAZNAVI Rice University (Houston) Senior
FREE SPEECH - OPEN
1st Chun JUN
2nd Rochelle BREEN
3rd Angolaoluwa OLUTIMEHIN
SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE WHO SUPPORT MADE THE CONTEST POSSIBLE:
· The Consulate General of Japan in Houston
· Rice University Center for Languages and Intercultural Communication
· Japan Foundation
· Kanagawa-Shintech Fund
· Japanese Teachers Association of Texas
· Japan Business Association of Houston
· Japanese Association of Greater Houston
· Texoma JET Alumi Association
OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF TEXAS STATE JAPANESE LANGUAGE SPEECH CONTEST
SPECIAL SPIRIT SUPPORTER
