2025 Student Speakers Contest Topic
“Artificial Intelligence; Friend or Foe?”
Goleta Santa Barbara Lions Club Student Speakers Contest:
Official Student Speakers Website with More Info:
https://md4lions.org/studentspeakers
Each year in February The Goleta Lions Club and Lions Multiple District 4 sponsor a Student Speakers contest that helps students gain confidence in themselves and hone their public speaking talents through speech writing and oration. The student speakers contest presents a topic of public concern and offers solutions to these current events.
The annual competition is open to all California High School students, encouraging them to hone their talent through research, speech drafting and oration skills. The goal is for students to gain confidence in themselves, become comfortable addressing audiences of various sizes and build skills that facilitate success throughout their educational years and beyond. We look forward to hearing their interesting ideas through excellent delivery as they tackle a timely issue that affects all Californians.
Contest Entry Rules
The contest is open to students who reside in MD-4, including foreign exchange students, grades 9-12, of any high school or junior high school, charter school, private school, home school or independent study.
The presentation shall be given in the English language only. Phrases in a non-English language must be immediately followed by a direct English translation.
Winners of the previous MD-4 Final Contests are not eligible. Eligible students shall be those of the above grades and under the age of twenty-one as of February.
Contestants must not have completed grade 12 prior to the termination of the spring semester of the year and must be attending school when the competition is held.
Only one winner shall be certified to the next succeeding contest.
Contest Levels
The local Lions Club will choose one student speakers contest winner for the “club level” contest and that person will advance to the next level where they will compete against other winners. A student speakers contest winner can advance a total of six levels and reach the MD4 final contest which is usually held in June.
1) Club Contest
2) Zone Contest
3) Region Contest
4) District Contest
5) Area Contest
6) Multiple District (MD4) Final Contest
Previous Winners
The 2023 Winner of the Student Speakers Contest was Riley Welch of San Marcos High School. She won the club level contest but also won the zone level contest and the region contest. This is the farthest any Goleta Santa Barbara Lions Club Student Speakers winner has gone in club history.
