Student speeches bankable

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Grade level winners (from left) Stephen Bush, Olivia Belda and Acquila Maliyekkal.

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Sixth grade finalists (from left) Olivia Belda, Natalie Moss and Nia Brazzell.

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Fourth grade finalists (from left) Natasha Bramer, Lexi Keene and Stephen Bush.

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Fifth grade finalists (from left) Acquila Maliyekkal, Manooshree Patel and Mikayla Regier.

Thorner School fourth-grader Stephen Bush, Old River Elementary fifth-grader Acquila Maliyekkal and Endeavour Elementary sixth-grader Olivia Belda emerged as Bank of America Essay and Speech Contest winners among 25 of the best essayist-speakers who competed in the annual event held May 7 at University Square in Bakersfield. Each convinced the judges they should be their grade level champion by delivering a three-to-five minute speech from an essay they had previously written. Fourth-graders had "Why is Volunteerism Important" as their topic. "Should Community Service be a Requirement for High School Graduation" was the topic for fifth and sixth-graders.

Approximately 400 Kern County students had written classroom essays on the topics. Each county English and language arts region could nominate only one classroom essay per grade level. The top 25 essayists, as determined by a panel of judges from the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ (KCSOS) Curriculum, Instruction and Accountability department, were picked to compete in the speech portion of the contest. Bank of America’s Central California Market and KCSOS sponsor the competition, which awards savings bonds in the amounts of $100 for first place, $75 for second and $50 for third.

"Investing in education is a very important priority for Bank of America," said Denise Payne, senior vice president/senior consumer marketing executive. With a smile she told the student competitors, "We want all the students to know we are hiring at Bank of America. You should feel good that you made it here tonight."

Each of the three grade level winners had a unique way of addressing their topics. Bush compared volunteerism to the makeup of a beach. As he put it, "I am one grain of sand, but if there weren’t many like me there wouldn’t be a beach."

Maliyekkal referred to community service as a feel good experience. "If you want to lift yourself up — lift up your community," he said.

Belda felt success in life was an opportunity to share the wealth. "Community service is a great way to help others in need. By earning more in your chosen field you have a chance to give more to your community," Belda said.

As the awards were being handed out, Teresa Twisselman, KCSOS English/language arts coordinator, said, "Bank of America is a great example of how a community partnership for education works. It provided all the judges, awards and certificates for tonight’s competition."

2009 Bank of America Essay/Speech Contest Finalists

4th Grade
1st — Stephen Bush, Thorner School
2nd — Lexi Keene, Reagan School
3rd — Natasha Bramer, Columbia Elementary

5th Grade
1st — Acquila Maliyekkal, Old River Elementary
2nd — Mikayla Regier, Discovery Elementary
3rd — Manooshree Patel, Reagan School

6th Grade
1st — Olivia Belda, Endeavour Elementary
2nd — Natalie Moss, St. Francis Parish School
3rd — Nia Brazzell, Stockdale Elementary

2009 Bank of America Speech Contest Competitors (not by order of finish)

4th Grade
Natasha Bramer, Columbia Elementary
Stephen Bush, Thorner School
Nick Clarksean, St. Francis Parish School
Ryan Crowley, Stockdale Elementary
Lexi Keene, Reagan School
Jayden Lotz, Endeavour Elementary
Claire Murray, Patriot Elementary
Joshua Svihovec, McAuliffe School
Cy Williams, Veterans Elementary

5th Grade
Matt Chaffee, McAuliffe School
John Irwin, Columbia Elementary
Kaley Lovio, Patriot Elementary
Madalyn Luter, Veterans Elementary
Acquila Maliyekkal, Old River Elementary
Manooshree Patel, Reagan School
Mikayla Regier, Discovery Elementary
Joseph Rivera, St. Francis Parish School

6th Grade
Olivia Belda, Endeavour Elementary
Nia Brazzell, Stockdale Elementary
Amrit Dhillon, Berkshire Elementary
Natalie Moss, St. Francis Parish School
Annie Murrell, Thorner School
Grace Park, Discovery Elementary
Julie Pascual, Norris Middle
Matt Wade, McAuliffe School


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