Senior Mia Narciso made history by becoming the first female speaker to win a state championship at Marist High School.
She competed in an event named Original Oratory, writing a persuasive essay and delivering it February 20 in Peoria.
“It was about Gen Z, and how we were given a world that’s super messed up and really scary, crazy, and uncertain,” said Narciso. “And the way that we’re dealing with it is having long term effects on how we function.”
She practiced for months to perfect her speech.
“I actually started writing my speech back in summer,” said Narciso. “You have to memorize it and kind of get everything right. So it’s definitely a commitment but one that I’m really happy I did.”
Speech teacher Dane Mayer helped guide her through revisions.
“We had personal practices with the students that qualified,” said Mayer. “To give more individualized attention and detail work.”
Despite intense practice, it is hard to be flawless.
“Nobody knows your speech except for you,” said Narciso. “I’ve had mistakes happen and nobody even knew they happened because I was able to recover and just keep going.”
While she was proceeding through the rounds of the state competition, winning was not the main thing on her mind.
“I really cared about advancing because it allowed me to get my message out to more people,” said Narciso.
Then came the moment when the winner was announced.
“It was so nerve-racking for me because I just found out I won and then I’m like oh my God I have to do my speech now,” said Narciso. “But I was super grateful. My whole family was in the front row so it was really sick, but crazy.
“This is Marist’s first state title for speech since 1987 so it’s a huge achievement for us,” said Mayer. “Mia, the state winner, worked incredibly hard both this year and in years past.”
It is not just a title that Narciso aims to achieve.
“I really hope that people kind of took away from my speech to have a little bit more empathy for the situation we’ve been in,” said Narciso. “Obviously COVID hit us at a point where we were just devolving so it’s kind of insane the world we’ve been living in.”
Mayer stresses the skills he’s teaching can last a lifetime.
“The confidence and comfortability it brings is helpful in many aspects of life,” said Mayer. “The ability to learn, adjust, and grow is helpful.”
Narciso agrees.
“In every aspect of my life I apply speech things,” said Narciso. “The ability to research, and to write, and to perfect argumentation.”
