Speech winners awarded the trip of a lifetime

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on January 27, 2022.

Left to right : Charis Legg, Grade 10, LCI; Alyssa Thomson, Grade 11, Magrath; Hayat Makivik, Grade 11, Chinook; Gordon Lowe, Chairman. Submitted photo

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Summer 2022 will be hard to forget for two young high school students, who are the recipients of an all expense paid trip.
At a speech competition sponsored by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows that took place on January 8 high school students competed to attend their Annual Pilgrimage for Youth.
According to a press release from the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, Hayat Mikivik, Grade 11 student from Chinook High School, whose topic was ‘Sudan’s Road to Democracy’, and Alyssa Thomson, Grade 11 student from Magrath High School, whose topic was ‘The Importance of Education’ were the winners of the competition.
Mikivik and Thomson were presented with the Snowden Memorial Trophy which they will share through the coming year. The judges for the evening included Lynda Kavanaugh, member of the Canadian Association of Amateur Speakers, retired teacher Liz Arthur and retired teacher-librarian, Anne Pauls.
The release mentioned they will spend two weeks in early July visiting the Parliament in Ottawa and the Capitol in Washington. They will also spend a week in New York City, visiting sites such as the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty, as well as visiting the United Nations and meeting with some of the delegates there.
Addison Heggie, grade 12 student from LCI, will also be allowed to go on the trip as she won the competition in 2020 but was unable to travel due to COVID-19 restrictions.
In their release, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows recognized the efforts of the other participants by stating, “First Runner-Up was Charis Legg, Grade 10, LCI, speaking about Irresponsible Industries. Other participants included Leshaye Hairy Bull, Grade 10, Kainai High School, Evelyn Dickenson, Grade 11, Nanton High School, and Riley West, Grade 11, Magrath High School. All six students gave excellent presentations.”

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