Hundreds of students competing against each other in hopes of winning. Thousands of eyes watching each competitor. Each name gets called, from last to first. Senior Kade Lawrence waits as each name gets announced. Finally, the very last name, the champion of the FFA Public Speaking Nationals Convention, gets announced: Kade Lawrence.
On Friday, Nov. 10, Lawrence competed in the 96th Annual National FFA Convention & Expo in Indianapolis, IN. After months of preparation, Lawrence brings home the Champion title not just representing Canyon, but the state of Texas as a whole.
“Entering nationals, all you’re thinking about is the contest this week and you need to win,” Lawrence said. “It’s just a mix of emotions and it’s a big conference. You’re the representative for the state of Texas.”
All 50 states competed, along with Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Thousands of people attending, all competing against one another to represent their school. Years of preparation and practicing, creating tremendous growth over time.
“Kade has always been a very good public speaker,” FFA Adviser Jeffery Klose said. “But I think the thing that has really changed with him is the amount of effort he’s put into an Ag contest and FFA. Not only do you have to get up and give an eight-minute speech, but after that you have to answer questions for five minutes about your speech topic.”
With weeks, even months, of preparation all leading up to this. As the date grew closer, Lawrence practiced even more, preparing for any possible question, making his speech perfect.
“There’s a lot of planning that goes into the topic, into your presentation, how you deliver it, and how you answer questions,” Lawrence said. “Also, a lot of effort goes into the actual planning and preparation of the speech.”
Standing in front of a mirror, repeating the speech over and over. He’s done this for years, and now all his hard work is paying off.
“We tell our students all the time, if you outwork everybody else, you have a really good chance to be the best in your category,” Klose said. “Kade is one of those students that just puts in an unbelievable amount of work in everything that he does and we’re really proud of him.”
As each name goes down, the anticipation grows.
“You’re standing on stage in front of probably 10,000 kids in that room,” Lawrence said. “You’re very nervous, they start counting down names, and you haven’t heard yours yet. So you’re kind of like, ‘Hey, do I gotta hear my name? And then, oh, hey, last one.’ So it’s definitely nerve-wracking, but at the same time, it’s a great feeling.”
