UIC speech champions Victoria Peng and Celina Lyu from DBM, and Thomas Li from DHSS/DCC impressed the judges to score highly in a competitive provincial tournament for a China-wide speaking contest, the “FLTRP.ETIC Cup” English Public Speaking Contest, last weekend Nov. 9, 2019 in Dongguan.

Victoria and Celina both received the “2^nd prize” in the competition, placing 15^th and 19^th respectively.  This is highly impressive considering, this was Guangdong province’s semi-final round of the largest China-based English speech contest, competing against 137 other university champions.  Thomas failed to qualify by seconds due to not quite speaking the minimum amount of time, though had he spoken 10 seconds more his score would have put him in the “2^nd prize” list or even in the finals optimistically speaking. 

Victoria and Celina’s three-minute speeches were about breaking stereotypes and Thomas spoke on the ideal university English course.  Being such gifted and eloquent speakers, they all energized the audience.

Matt Breeze, the Intern Coordinator, accompanied the students to Dongguan and he had this to say.  “FLTRP was a great chance for some talented UIC students to showcase their English skills in front of a large audience as well as being a chance to see a cool, nearby city.”

Mr. Leck Wall

Lecturer and Contestant Coach (ELC)