On April 24 and 25, the SJHS Speech team went to the State Championship in Albany. Overall the team won third place, highlighted by Yolgie Pierre’s first place win in Varsity Oral Interpretation.

     There were many students from freshmen to seniors who went to States. They included senior Victoria Myrthil and junior Nichole Prime, who won second place in Duo Interpretation, while sophomore Daniella DeJesus won fifth place for JV Oral Interpretation.

     Yolgie won first place for the first time at Varsity Oral Interpretation. The piece she used for the final round was a poem called “We Speak Your Names” by Pearl Cleage and Nikki Giovanni. She received a New York State plaque.

     Yolgie said senior year is her last year for states competition, so this meant a lot to her because last year she got second place. “I was really overjoyed,” she said. “I kept praying to God throughout the day and I believe that if you really want something and if it’s God’s will, it will happen.”

     “I’ve been doing speech for four years and each year I feel more and more in love with it,” Yolgie added. “Speech made me who I am today. I wouldn’t know how to act in society, publically speak in front of people or be so confident without it.”

     When asked about her third place win in Oral Interpretation, Shiovahn Gustave, a junior, said, “I felt accomplished, because I set a goal for top five and got third.” Her piece for the first round was a poem named “Bum Rush” by various authors.

     Last year Shiovahn won fifth place in Oral Interpretation. She said, “I worked hard almost every Saturday. At States, I didn’t know what was going on because I didn’t feel like I was into my pieces. Other than that I was surprised that I got that far.” 

     Amanda Andrew, a freshman, said it was nerve-wracking at first going to states, but she started to warm up to the idea of being away. She also said, “Everyone on speech practiced really hard because they had a very determined coach, David Risley, who really wanted them to their best.”

     The semi-finalists in state speech competition for JV oral interpretation were Sierra Armstrong, Judwina Chery, Shyan Lovell, and Yasmine Rezaka.

      In addition, Stephanie Guzman advanced to the semi-finals in dramatic interpretation, as did Emmanuela Vaught in declamation.