The La Mesa-El Cajon Branch of the American Association of University Women is holding their annual Speech Trek, speech contest, open to all high school students in grades 9-12. The virtual contest is open to all high schools including public, charter, and private.

Each year a critical topic is selected and students, along with a branch/teacher coach, create, prepare, and present an original, 5–6-minute speech. This year’s topic is, “How can communities, organizations and citizens of all ages help protect and expand voting rights?”

This year’s contest will be held via Zoom on Feb. 7, 6 p.m. All speeches will be videotaped for the State-level competition.

Participating this year are Hussein Al Husseini, a senior from Granite Hills High School, Caitlin Hackenburg, a junior at Canyon Hills High School, and Kyra Sharma, a sophomore attending La Jolla High School. Those wishing to be part of the virtual audience should contact chairperson, Sandra Martinez at [email protected] for the zoom information.

The winning participant’s video will then be sent to the AAUW State competition. Winners at the local level in the La Mesa-El Cajon branch will receive $500.00 for first place, $250.00 for the runner-up and $125.00 for third place. The winner at the State level will win $1500.00, second place will receive $1000.00, and third place will take home $500.00.

The State winners will be announced on April 22, 2023, at the annual meeting and their speeches will be available for viewing on the AAUW-CA Website following that meeting at: aauw-ca.org.