Students from numerous academic majors across Rutgers University-New Brunswick participated in the annual Public Speaking Contest held on April 20, 2023 at the School of Communication and Information (SC&I). This year, the contest’s theme was inspired by the Scarlet Knight.

“The Scarlet Knight, the iconic Rutgers mascot, is bold and confident, so our students should be too,” said SC&I Teaching Instructor of Communication Erin Christie, the faculty advisor for the Rutgers Public Speaking Organization, who planned the event, said. She urged this year’s contest participants to use their voices to “Be bold. Be heard. Be confident!” 

The annual contest offers students who have taken or are enrolled in the SC&I Public Speaking course (380) the chance to showcase the skills they have learned in class.

Halé Oal ‘25, who is majoring in Political Science and Environmental Studies, and came in first place in the final round this year, said, “Taking the Public Speaking course at Rutgers has been one of the most rewarding classes I have taken in college. While I have improved and learned a lot about public speaking, one of the things that makes this class so special is the connection you make with your classmates and your professor. Public speaking allows people to make connections with one another through educating, storytelling, and persuading; I believe this is such an important life skill to have, and one I will use for the rest of my life!”

Following two years of holding the contest virtually because of the COVID pandemic, this year the hybrid event included virtual preliminary rounds and then the final competition that was held in-person.

To participate in this contest, the only requirement is students must successfully complete the Public Speaking course 380 during or before the spring 2023 semester.

“Taking the Public Speaking course at Rutgers has been one of the most rewarding classes I have taken in college." -- Halé Oal ‘25.

To participate in the preliminary rounds, students were required to submit a recording of their speech. Then, five were selected to advance to finals to present their final speeches.  

The contest judges were SC&I faculty members Professor of Communication and Chair of the Communication Department Marya Doerfel; Part-Time Lecturer Tara Jacobic; and alumna Noor Abedrabbo, COM ‘23, a previous second place winner of the contest. 

The winners of the final round, the titles of their presentation, their prizes, and their instructors are:

First Place: Hale Oal, “We need to use less plastic,” $800 (Instructor: Part-Time Lecturer Azriela Jaffe).        

Second Place: Vinisha Bhagdev, “A Journey to Hearing Loss,” $500 (Instructor: Jaffe)       

Third Place: Keerthana Kothapalli, “The Psychology and Science of Selling,” $300 (Instructor: Jaffe).     

Fourth Place: Ayelet Schochet, “How to Save a Life,” $250 (Instructor: Jaffe).

Fifth Place: Thomas Mrotek, “Neurodiversity at Rutgers,” $150 (Instructor: Part-Time Lecturer Laura Jacobs).      

. . . The opportunity was definitely positive, and I would recommend any student taking Public Speaking and to give the competition a try, you never know what might happen.” -- Thomas Mrotek '25

Mrotek ‘25, a Finance Major with a Concentration in Entrepreneurship, explains the importance of trying anything once. “I have seen these different opportunities or competitions around Rutgers and thought to myself ‘there's no way I could win so why should I even try?,’” Mrotek said. “But for some reason this time I thought ‘why not’ and submitted a speech. It took about 20 minutes since I had already made the speech in class and shockingly enough, I made it to the finals. I met multiple professors, other proactive students, I made my professor proud, and even got a little prize money. So for 20 minutes of work, the opportunity was definitely positive, and I would recommend any student taking Public Speaking and to give the competition a try, you never know what might happen.”

“The one thing that stood out this year,” Christie said, “is how long it's been since we have been able to do this in person. It was exciting and rejuvenating to be back in the same room with the competitors.” 

Discover more about the Communication Department at the Rutgers School of Communication and Information on the website.

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