Senior Aaron Raines will be going to the State competition for Forensic Speech after placing in the top three at Regionals.
By Leah Holliday
On Fri., Mar. 2, senior Aaron Raines placed in the top three at Regionals for Forensic Speech. The competition was held at Lee Davis High School.
Competing in the category of Original Oratory, Raines spoke on “What Every Teenager Should Learn.” This was the first time her mom attended a competition with her. Her mom’s emotions toward her daughter caused her to get caught up in her words.
“It was the first time my mom heard my speech, and she cried. It made me forget a whole part,” Raines said.
Hoping to have this kind of affect on the judges, Raines continued to bring her speech out from her mind to her lips. She had to repeat her speech multiple times to different judges, so Raines had multiple chances to impress new people.
Each speech was made to be five to ten minutes long. Also, the speaker must be persuasive in his or her speech, allowing the judges to believe in their opinion.
“They really judge on tone, organization, movement, and the ability to persuade them,” Raines said.
Raines did not think her competition was easy. It was Raines’ first time doing anything like this, but for the others it was “like second nature”.
“They were all really good. There was this girl Layla and she was amazing. She had been doing this since sixth grade. It seemed like second nature to her,” Raines said.
Due to her success at Regionals, Raines will be moving on to the state competition.
“I would be really excited, because I am the only student from Prince George to go to state,” said Raines.
If Raines places once again at State she will move on to Nationals. Much support and congratulations is given to Raines as she continues with hopes of success.
Faven Butler • Mar 30, 2012 at 2:02 am
It is not everyday that a student gets to go to state competitions. I am proud of Aaron for her achievements. She is definitely someone who has a talent for expressing their feelings and emotions and conveying them without any offense being taken from anybody who disagrees. Instead we tend to listen to her ideas. Her nice personality takes away any argument we may have against the subject and instead entices us to hear her thoughts and ideas. Congrats Aaron!
Melissa Tomlin • Mar 29, 2012 at 6:12 pm
Aaron is such a great speaker because of her emotion and stories that go with it. It is a honor to hear her speeches in class. It is great to see her strive and succeed in something that she is truly talented at.
Krystin Treglown • Mar 27, 2012 at 9:26 pm
I have the great honor of being in Mrs. Britt’s, 2nd period speech class with Aaron Raines. Her last name fits her so well, considering she always “rains” her postive attitude over everyone. I get so excited listening to Aaron’s speeches, she truly speaks the TRUTH. Just the other day she gave a speech about cyber bullying which was amazing. Aaron informed us she placed 6th in state, which is an amazing accomplishment. I admire Aaron for all her hard work and how great of a person she is! Congrats Aaron, you’re really number one in my heart!
Tyler Thompson • Mar 26, 2012 at 6:17 am
To much emphasis in placed on achievements in sports these days. To see such a level attained in an area of competition by a student in little Prince George County is a great thing. Making it to states is showing that you are the best at what you do. Just reaching that far in your area of skill is an honor. I had heard of speech competitions but I had not heard much. To see this student excel in a sometimes overlooked area brings light that there is more to do than sports in Prince George. It’s good to see that we have such exceptional students in PG. Good job and good luck!
Jordan Thompson • Mar 25, 2012 at 12:24 pm
After getting to know Aaron in PGTV, I can easily say that this is not surprising to me because she truly knows how to express herself through her words in front of others. She is a great speaker as well as anchor on PGTV and she reflects how an orator should be. She has great inflection, projection, and passion when giving a speech. I have heard a lot of wonderful things about her when she presents her speeches in her speech class and I am so happy for her and wish her all of the best luck at States and I hope she is able to make it to Nationals. Congrats Aaron!
Amaya Ray • Mar 23, 2012 at 7:35 am
Congrats Aaron!! I know speaking in front of judges that you dont know can be a hard task. Im sure everybody that attends or works for PGHS are proud of Aaron! Keep it up!
Bradley Cooper • Mar 22, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Congratulations to this student for her excellent achievement. I am not familiar with this organization, but this sounds like quite a rigorous task. I’m positive she will represent our school highly.
Megan Jonson • Mar 18, 2012 at 1:09 pm
Congratulations to Aaron! There are so many talented and successful students at the high school who do such great things, I love when the school recognizes them. I have always been interested in Forensics and this article really shows all the time and effort that goes into preparing a speech for a competition that students at the high school go through. I especially liked the part in this article where it talked about how Aaron got chocked up because her mom started crying during her speech. That is so sweet and it just shows that “the show must go on” and it is not always about what you say, but how you say it that matters. There is not a doubt in my mind that Aaron will represent Prince George High School well when she does to the state competition.