UF Students Compete in Japanese Speech Contest

Five University of Findlay students recently competed in the virtual 2021 annual Ohio Japanese Speech Contest on Saturday, March 13.

Students Garrett Brown, Thea Knapp, Tamara Medakov, Jocelyn Haugh, and Samuel Thacker represented UF in the College Category of the contest.

“The students wrote an original speech in Japanese, practiced and memorized it. On March 13, they, as finalists, delivered their speeches and answered judges’ questions all in Japanese,” explained Hiroaki Kawamura, Ph.D., associate professor of Japanese, and director of modern language.

Brown and Knapp achieved second and third place respectively against students from University of Toledo, The Ohio State University, and THK Accelerated Japanese for Professional Development Program.

“We are very proud of the students’ hard work and beautiful messages coming out of their heart in Japanese,” Dr. Kawamura said.

Hosted by the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio (JASCO), the annual contest offers a unique opportunity for Japanese-language learners to showcase their achievements. The JASCO website explains the “objective of this event is to foster Japanese language education throughout the state of Ohio by supporting the continued effort of local public schools and colleges to improve the quality of the Japanese-language learning environment.”

For more information on the University’s Japanese Program, visit the Japanese Language & Culture webpage.