Oratorical Contest
Winners!
May 12, 2007
from left to right: Brian Donohue, Tanicka Lewis, Paulina Maida, Angela Burke, Jessica Abejar, Kathleen Dunn, and Rachael Tissot
Congratulations to ALL of our winners... from the local contests as well as the state contest. We are so proud of your accomplishments! Thank you for your willingness to be a voice that is right when the world is wrong. May this be just the beginning...
Finalists:
Jessica Abejar is a 17-year-old senior from Holy Trinity High School in Long Island. She has spent the last four years as an active student in the Performing Arts Department (recently performing in Oedipus Rex and Annual Dance Concert), Campus Ministry (Eucharistic minister and lector), National Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society, and more. She also reaches out to the community performing for Filipino religious groups, and has recently choreographed and taught a dance for an elementary & middle school fashion show. She received full scholarships from both the College of Mount Saint Vincent and St. John's University.
Angela Burke is an 18-year-old senior from Schenectady Christian School in Schenectady. She is involved in a variety of school activities, including concert band, jazz band, woodwind quintet, chorus, National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society. Angela teaches preschool Sunday school at church and volunteers at Alpha Pregnancy Care Center in Schenectady. She loves scrap-booking and watching movies. Angela plans on attending college as a biology major and becoming a doctor.
Tanicka Lewis is a 17-year-old senior at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx. She is a lector at St. Helena's Church on select Sundays. Tanicka has walked on Orchard Beach for a cure for breast cancer for the past two years. She will attend Fairleigh Dickinson University in the fall, majoring in nursing. After graduating, Tanicka aspires to write children's books. She also hopes to receive her Master's Degree in Nursing Education.
Rachael Tissot is a 18-year-old Senior at Tyburn Academy in Moravia. Her interests are in the field of music. She plays the piano and the guitar for pleasure and the bass drum in her school band. Rachael is an active member of her local church choir and has been involved in music ministry for several years. She serves as the church organist when needed. Rachael is the president of Teens for Life in Cayuga County. Through Teens for Life, she initiated the first annual pro-life march in the area. She is also responsible for implementing the Spiritual Adoption Program at her local church parish as well as at her school.
Kathleen Dunn is an 17-year-old senior from Fontbonne Hall Academy in Brooklyn. She is Vice-President of Fontbonne's pro-life organization, Friends for Life. Kathleen has been an integral part of the club's annual blood drives. She has been an avid pro-life supporter for several years. Kathleen is president of Fontbonne's Speech and Debate Team and has attended the New York State Forensics League Championships held in Albany. She will be attending college next fall where she plans to study political science with aspirations to be a Criminal Prosecutor.
Paulina Maida is a 17-year-old junior in Seton Catholic Central High School in Binghamton. At school, she is involved in the Catholic Character Council, Academic Challenge, Liturgy Committee, Spanish Club, and Select Chorus. Paulina is a student intern for Spanish and performs in school plays and musicals. She serves as a volunteer at the local hospital. Paulina is a lector, altar server, and Sunday School teacher. Her interests include literature, languages, music, history, and geography. Paulina hopes to become a pediatrician.
1st Place:
Brian J. Donohue is a 16-year-old junior from Rochester and has been home-schooled all his life. His hobbies include singing, playing guitar, writing, and reading. Brian's interests include Catholicism and biking. He plans on attending Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio, in 2008 to major in theology and philosophy.
