Fifteen of our students competed in the annual Rotary Four Way Test Scholarship Speech Tournament. Samantha Chi ’22, Jessica Tang ’22, and Arden Benitez ’22 advanced to the 2nd Level, which was held on March 3. At the conclusion of that day’s round, Arden Benitez advanced to the 3rd round. Arden’s speech was about his mission trips to Roatan and Honduras, where his family set up soccer camps and gave the young kids cleats. He spoke about how service, as simple as shoes, has a life-altering positive impact in these communities. The message touched the hearts of the Rotarians so much that they discussed among themselves how they could support Arden in the future and turn hundreds of shoes into thousands.

Arden will be competing on March 9 against classmate Chidera Abaelu ’24 and two contestants from other schools who will represent the Pasadena After Hours Rotary and San Marino Rotary. 

Maranatha’s Speech & Debate Coach, Mr. Pat Mesisca, shared, “It was a blessing to me to watch the students interact with the Rotarians at the event. Beyond presenting excellent speeches, they each represented themselves and our school well in the Pasadena/Altadena community.”

 

If a Maranatha student is successful in this week’s tournament, he/she will advance to the Regional Level (round 4) in April. Whether they win or not, we are proud of the hard work all our students have put into these competitions.