“Tell the Story of a Hero of Our American Democracy.”

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On November 18th, 2024 undergraduate and graduate students answered this prompt for UVA’s Annual Student Oratory Competition. They stood before a public audience and delivered their five-minute speeches to a bipartisan panel of former White House and Cabinet speechwriters in the Rotunda Dome Room.

​Awards included $1,000 prizes for each division winner, Jefferson Cups for finalists, and opportunities to engage with experts in the field. ​

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Sidney Seybold won the undergraduate division and Kamau Walker won the graduate division. Other finalists included Valentina Mendoza Gonzalez, Arola Oluwehinmi, Jack Siegel, Samuel Bedford, Grant Spears, and Heidi Zmick.

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This year's Student Oratory Competition was hosted by the Karsh Institute and Think Again @ UVA in partnership with Heterodox Academy at UVA, BridgeUVA, Civil Discourse Initiative, the Jefferson Literary & Debating Society, the Washington Society, the UVA Clubs Global Network, and Charlottesville's English Speaking Union.