Thea Bowman Leadership Academy (TBLA) scholars recently competed in an oratorical competition hosted at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Headquarters in Chicago. Scholars grades 7-12 competed against students from Detroit and the Chicagoland area. Our scholars took home first place, second place, and honorable mention.
“At Thea Bowman we are focused on helping each of our scholars fulfill their tremendous innate potential,” said TBLA school leadership. “We are extremely proud of how well our scholars performed and their ability to take the skills that they learn here at school and apply them. It took great courage for them to speak at a tournament in front of some of the best speakers we’ve heard and win. They worked hard and represented our school and the Gary community extremely well.”
The theme was, Let Us Run. The competition was designed to focus young people on the power of eloquent persuasive speech. In the 7th-8th grade category, Laniya Mabon won second place ($75), Paris Lawson won third place ($50), and Diamond Jackson earned honorable mention ($10). In 9th-12th grade category, Dasiera Lee and Rihanna Lee tied first place ($100), and Jamel Miller earned third place ($50).
The competition highlighted three essential components of future leaders in communities across America: (1) a strong moral compass, (2) excellence in education and (3) sound communication skills. Scholars were required to conceptualize, prepare and deliver a memorized speech as an essential component to becoming future leaders.
About TBLA: Thea Bowman Leadership Academy is a tuition-free public school located in Gary, Indiana. Our academies focus on providing an outstanding educational experience for grades K-12 on two beautiful campuses. Thea Bowman prides itself in engaging scholars in rigorous & robust curricula and instruction, affording students a college prep curriculum, high-quality STEM program, and a plethora of dual credit course offerings.
