Essay Contest – Optimist Club of Waterloo North

2023 Oratorical & Essay Contest Results

On Saturday, March 3, contestants and their families dug themselves out from a winter storm to gather for our annual contest. We heard inspiring speeches from our Oratorical Contestants, making for difficult decisions for the Judges. This year’s topic for the speeches was “Discovering the Optimism within Me.”

Following the Oratorical Contest speeches, our Essay Contest winner read her Essay on the 2023 topic, “Who is an Everyday Hero that Brings Out the Optimism in You?” .

Congratulations to all our participants and good luck to the contestants moving on to represent our club at the Zone and District contests… Aileen, Felipe and Aaban.

2022 Oratorical & Essay Contest Results

It was nice to be back in-person for our 2022 Contest Day. We heard inspiring speeches from our Oratorical Contestants, making it a difficult time for the Judges. This year’s topic for the speeches was “Staying Optimistic in Challenging Times.”

Following the Oratorical Contest speeches, our Essay Contest winner read her Essay on the 2022 topic, “How Does an Optimistic Mindset Change My Tomorrow?” .

Congratulations to all our participants and good luck to the contestants moving on to represent our club at the Zone and District contests… Chloe, Jasmine and Marina.

2021 Oratorical and Essay Competitions

Are you an aspiring author? Or perhaps enjoy public speaking?

The Optimist Club of Waterloo North is looking for local students to participate in our annual Essay Contest and/or Oratorical Contest for the 2020-21 school year.

Students in our area are being invited to showcase their writing and/or public speaking skills in our upcoming virtual events to be held in early 2021.

Contestants will participate in a club-level contest and local winners move on to compete at higher levels where scholarships are awarded to winners. Up to $25,000 in scholarships are available within Optimist International.

Topics for this year’s contests are below. Click on the contest buttons for more details and application forms.

Oratorical Contest

“Healing the World with Optimism”

Essay Contest

“Reaching your Dreams by Choosing Optimism”

2020 Club Contest Medalists

At our February club meeting this week, we wrapped up our 2019-2020 Essay and Oratorical contests. Essay contestants wrote on the topic “Is Optimism the Key to Achieving the Dreams you iMagine?” while the Oratorical contestants spoke for five minutes on the topic “Just iMagine a World without Boundaries.”

We applaud all competing students for their creativity and hard work. The winning Essay moves on to compete at the Midwestern Ontario District. The first and second place finishers in the Oratorical Contest participate in the Zone 7 (Waterloo, Kitchener, Cambridge) contest where two speakers will be chosen to compete at the District contest in May. (Scholarships are awarded at the District level and Oratorical Contest winners can move on to compete for additional scholarships regionally and internationally.)

Thank you to the principals, teachers, judges and parents for supporting these talented youth.