STUDENT FROM THE ENGLISH-CHINESE DEPARTMENT WON SECOND PLACE WITH A PERSUASIVE ORATORY

On March 2, 2022, the College of Education held its annual oratorical speech competition to celebrate its week. Seven contestants representing a variety of departments delivered speeches evaluated on oratory abilities, including the relevance and value of their speeches, as well as the quality of their writing and delivery. Among the competitors was Cecille Mae Flor Canillas from the English-Chinese department, who delivered a persuasive and thought provoking speech on the true face of the Philippine educational system amidst the pandemic. Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, Cecille's speech highlighted how education remained an essential aspect of Filipino society, shedding light on inequalities and gaps in the education system while also presenting opportunities for improvement. 

After careful deliberation by a panel of four judges, Ms. Canillas was awarded second place, receiving a medal in person and an online certificate award. The Treasurer of the College of Education Council, Ms. Michelle Empino, led the event's facilitation with the assistance of Mr. Glen Mark Barlin and Ms. Raquel Montealegre, ensuring the program's success.

Reflecting on her experience, Cecille shared that one of the challenges she encountered was her environment while preparing her speech. "I believe one of the challenges I encountered was my environment. My nephews are quite noisy when I'm filming my video, and how should I handle doing some speech movements with the background I had in our house,” she said. Despite the distractions and a less than ideal background, she did not allow these challenges to prevent her from delivering an excellent performance. Her hard work and dedication paid off, earning her an impressive overall score of 97.95%. 

Cecille's success in the oratorical speech competition is a testament to her talent and dedication, as well as the value of language proficiency and interdisciplinary studies such as English-Chinese. This program provides students with a broad set of skills that can be applied in various fields, from public speaking to critical thinking and problem-solving. Although sports may not be the primary focus of this department, the skills acquired through their coursework are valuable in numerous ways, as demonstrated by Cecille's remarkable achievement.