American Legion invites high school students to participate in speech contest
Adison Harrison, center right, was the 2024 winner of the American Legion Post 143 High School Oratorical Contest. The American Legion is inviting high school students to participate in the 2025 event, winners of which will earn scholarship money and a chance to compete in national finals. From left: Post 143 Commander Jim Culpepper, Adison's brother and 2024 runner-up Elijah Harrison, Adison and Oratorical Contest Chair Vic Parrish.
Courtesy photo
It's never too early to learn about the United States Constitution and how America came to be guided by its forward-thinking Founding Fathers.
American Legion Post 143 in Post Falls is encouraging young people to delve deeper into the nation's guiding principles, commit them to memory and share their knowledge with others through the American Legion High School Oratorical Contest.
Adison Harrison, a 2024 Trinity Home Educators Co-op graduate, won the local contest the past two years and competed at the state level in Meridian earlier this year.
"I got second there, so almost to nationals but not quite,” Harrison, 19, said Thursday.
She said the reason she competed three times was because it forced her to learn more about the Constitution and related topics.
"It was just really, really enjoyable to learn about the history of the amendments and the history of the nation," she said.
Students from Kootenai County and neighboring counties are welcome to participate in the oratorical contest for chances to win scholarship money and the opportunity to compete at the national level.
The subject in the prepared oration portion of the contest must be about some phase of the Constitution of the United States, emphasizing the duties and obligations of citizens to the U.S. government. The prepared oration must be the original effort of each contestant and must be 8-10 minutes long.
Three competitions are taking place in Idaho — one at Post 143 followed by a district-level competition then a state-level contest in February. The local contest will be Dec. 21. Applications must be submitted by Dec. 11. Local prizes are $500 and $250.
As well as the awards by winners of the various elimination rounds of competition, college scholarships of $25,000, $22,500 and $20,000 will be awarded to the first through third places in the national finals. State winners who compete in the national contest's first round will receive $2,000 scholarships. Participants in the second round who do not advance to the national final round will receive additional $2,000 scholarships. The top three youth orators who have won all previous elimination rounds of the contest will vie for top honors in the national competition in April in Indianapolis.
The American Legion will pay the expenses of state winners at the national contest.
“I would recommend people who have a passion for the history of the U.S. should definitely give this a try," Harrison said.
She said participating in this contest can inspire others. She said she often received positive feedback, especially from veterans.
“One thing I definitely learned was that our nation needs a sense of hope," Harrison said. "We can give that to our nation through dedication to learning about the Constitution. There's so many times I'd go to these competitions and present my speeches and veterans would come up to me to say I give them hope."
Visit legion.org for details.