The department held its Spring 2017 Public Speaking Contest on April 19. Seven fabulous speakers hand-chosen by their instructors took to the stage in front of an audience of more than 200 faculty, students, friends, and family. The fare ranged from an after-dinner speech exhorting us to support Kanye West for president to an informative speech about the jungle of bacteria that reside in our bodies. Photos of the event can be found here. In the end, judges representing faculty, graduate students, and the undergraduate student body chose the top two: 1st Place went to Gabby Cullen for “The Immortal Jellyfish,” a speech about the science of longevity. 2nd Place went to Savanna Leah Mabry for “The Cure” about the need to treat the opioid epidemic as an issue of public health rather than a war on drugs. Thanks to all who participated! Thanks to Barbara Robinson at Xanedu Publishing who sponsored the event. And thanks to all those who helped this year: Tom Lessl Lee Pierce Tim Curran Clay Stewart Kristin Andersen Mollie Murphy Hillary Palmer Logan Gramzinski Nathan Rothenbaum Steven Murray Lee-Andre Garvin Breena Brockman Kristi Schaller Anna Walling Anna Dudney Deeb Becca Steiner Jaclyn Nolan Nicole Hurt Angie Switon And Marybeth Schaller, instructor of our winning student!
