For Immediate Release
Contact: Kerry Minster
706.454.1562
kerry.minster@lakeoconeeacademy.org
LAKE OCONEE ACADEMY SOPHOMORE CAPTURES STATE CHAMPION TITLE IN GHSA LITERARY MEET
Greensboro, Ga. (March 21, 2017) - Lake Oconee Academy entered its first high school state champion in the record books with sophomore Chandler Pearson's performance at the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) Literary Meet on Saturday, March 18, 2017. Pearson earned state champion honors in Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking in the GHSA Region 7 Area 8.
After placing first in the regional competition, Pearson earned a position at the state level competition among eight contestants from five area high schools. Domestic Extemporaneous Speaking is a public speaking contest in which contestants are provided a selection of topics dealing with current national issues that have been discussed in periodicals since September 1 of the current year. Each contestant draws three topics and must select one of the three to address in competition. A contestant is then allotted 30 minutes to plan and organize his/her speech and seven minutes to deliver the speech. The criteria for judging the competition includes: (a) analysis of topic (b) organizational skills (c) logical support (d) language skills and (e) delivery skills. Pearson's speech addressed the question, "Did Hillary Clinton's WikiLeaks controversy hurt her chances to be elected President?" Pearson earned an average score of 98.5 out of 100 from the judges.
"Congratulations to Chandler as LOA's first state champion," said Dr. Otho Tucker, CEO of LOA. "It is very rewarding to watch high school students excel and make a mark in LOA's first entry into these various competitions. Chandler has a bright future and we are proud to have her as part of Team Titan."