Vocational Service Cochair Audrey Dahlgren introduced the student contestants and reviewed the rules for speaking. The contestants were each given 4-6 minutes to speak, relating their topics to the Rotary Four-Way Test. The judges included Sylvia Benko, Charley Ferraro, Bob Coffey, and Art Delaloza, MMU Professor and Rotaract Advisor.
 
After careful consideration, the judging panel selected as winners Daniel Foltz for First Place (awarded $200) and Annie Benedict for Second Place (awarded $100). The winner will compete in the District Speech Competition at Loyola Marymount University on March 28. Congratulations to the winners, and our sincere thanks to all of the contestants for their hard work, and to Audrey Dahlgren for recruiting such a great cast of contestants!
 
(Shown with Audrey Dahlgren are Eileen Kim, Kevin Hsu, Daniel Foltz, Annie Benedict and Shannon Cardella)
 
 
 
Daniel Foltz discussed reciprocity and its relationship to vengeance versus the Golden Rule. He described how texting leads to loss of connection to others and described a campus experiment where everyone was to give a simple greeting to everyone else encountered on campus, resulting in better health and having more real friends instead of imaginary electronic friends.
 
Annie Benedict discussed psychosocial obstacles in the early life of children, predisposing to later drug abuse, behavioral issues, violence and dropping out of school, followed by failure in adult life. She reviewed problems in the foster parenting system (20,000 cases in LA County), and the benefits of the Boys and Girls Club for at-risk youth. One person can make a difference in someone’s life.
 
Eileen Kim discuss the psychology of how individuals relate to society, using the example of Shaken Baby Syndrome in studies at St Jude's Hospital. We need to raise awareness of this worldwide problem and deal with the causes of parental stress and frustration.
 
Kevin Hsu related how his father came from Taiwan in poverty, and is now in a major law firm. He reviewed how ethical ideas are not always seen in government and partisan politics, where gridlock and obstruction are sometimes valued over working together for the common good.
 
Shannon Cardella, of the Interact Club at Palos Verdes High School, discussed the humanitarian tragedy from Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in November 2013. It was one of the strongest tropical storms ever recorded, resulting in 6000 deaths and almost 2,000,000 homeless in the Philippines. She organized a Peace Project in January 2014 and raised relief money from her family and friends.