The 15th Annual Japanese Speech Contest in Southern Nevada

On Saturday, March 9th, the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco and the Southern Nevada Japanese Teachers Association held the 15th Japanese Speech Contest at Palo Verde High School in Las Vegas.

30 students, from middle school up to university level, participated in this year’s contest and demonstrated the achievements of their Japanese language studies and preparation for this contest. Approximately 100 audience members, including students’ family, friends, and teachers also attended in support of the contestants.

The Consulate would like to extend our sincere congratulations to all of this year’s contestants and commend each of them on their hard work.
 

Result

Middle / High School: Level 1

1^st Place:      Anakin Contreras (Centennial High School)
                    “All About Me”
2^nd Place:      James Adams (Palo Verde High School)
                    “About Me”
3^rd Place:      Jace McKay (Las Vegas Academy)
                    “Self-Introduction”                 
4^th Place:      Melia Okamoto (Sig Rogich Middle School)
                    “Family”
5^th Place:      Kennedy Longley (Sig Rogich Middle School)
                    “Friend/ Self-Introduction”
 

Middle / High School: Level 2

1^st Place:      Danielle Lopez (Coronado High School)
                    “Ramen”
2^nd Place:      Antonio Jones (Centennial High School)
                    “Osaka”
3^rd Place:      Khang Le (Sig Rogich Middle School)
                    “Places I want to See in Japan”             
4^th Place:      JieVu Lin (Clark High School)
                    “Happiest Memories”
5^th Place:      Zariah Singleton (Las Vegas Academy)
                    “Shopping Story”
6^th Place:      Dionee Simmons (Palo Verde High School)
                    “Today and Tomorrow’s Breakfast”
7^th Place:      Gabriel Gearhart (Sig Rogich Middle School)
                    “My Best Blonde Friend”
Special Recognition:
                    Danielle Lopez (Coronado High School)
                    “Ramen”

High School: Level 3

1^st Place:      Isabella Kane (Centennial High School)
                    “The Sad Truth of Suicide Rates Increasing in Japan”
2^nd Place:      Elise Rivera (Spring Valley High School)
                    “Borrowed Foreign Words”
3^rd Place:      Talaya Flicop (Las Vegas Academy)
                    “End of an Era”
4^th Place:      Clark Carver (Palo Verde High School)
                    “The Cuisine of Japan”
 

High School: Level 4

1^st Place:      Skyler Su (Coronado High School)
                    “Japan’s Obesity Rate”     
2^nd Place:      Chen Xuan Guang Ze (Spring Valley High School)
                    “My Future”            
3^rd Place:      Thomas Dewitt (Palo Verde High School)
                    “Discrimination”
4^th Place:      Drake Joseph (Centennial High School)
                    “Gaining Confidence by Designing a Cyclotron”
Bichard Award:
                    Skyler Su (Coronado High School)
                    “Japan’s Obesity Rate”

University: Level 1

1^st Place:      Ryan Cervantez (College of South Nevada)
                    “My amazing Twin Brother Riley and I”
 

University: Level 2

1^st Place:      George Stowe (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
                    “My Study Abroad Experience”
2^nd Place:      August Ficarrotta (College of South Nevada)
                    “History of Rakugo”
3^rd Place:      Mackenzie Nettles (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
                    “What Japanese Means to Me”
4^th Place:      Melikabella Shenouda (University of Nevada, Las Vegas)
                    “Japanese Art”

Heritage Round:

1^st Place:      Ashley Yakish (Palo Verde High School)
                    “Japanese mind that I want to spread around the world”
2^nd Place:      Selei Cho (Centennial High School)
                    “I love Japan and America!”
3^rd Place:      Sakura Gastaldo (Sig Rogich Middle School)
                    “Japanese Martial Arts”
4^th Place:      Joshua Jones (College of South Nevada)
                    “History of Nintendo”
 

Judges

Mr. Kazuhiro Iryu, Deputy Consul General, Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco
Mr. Mitsufumi Okabe, Publisher, Las Vegas Japan Times
Ms. Katsuyo Irvin, Manager, Grand Canyon/ Scenic Airlines/ Papillon Helicopter
Ms. Aki Steward Supervisor, H.I.S International Tours, Inc.
Ms. Yoko Ishikawa Manager, Japanese Festival Association of Nevada, Aki Matsuri
Ms. Mariko Galjour, Office Manager, National Broadband Services
Mr. Hal Yamamoto, Century 21, Consolidated Realtor