Consulate-General of Japan in Houston

On Saturday, March 7th, 2015, the Consulate-General of Japan in Houston and the Japan-America Society of Houston (JASH) co-hosted the 26th Annual Texas State-Wide Japanese Language Speech Contest at Rice University. Winners of the regional contests held in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio gathered to compete in seven divisions ranging from beginner poetry to advanced and adult level free speech.  During the contest’s Opening Ceremony Deputy Consul-General Iwasaki gave brief remarks encouraging the participants to do their best and praising the strong effort they had already made to qualify for this year’s competition.

First place winner Bilal Pazir and second place winner Joowon Lee from the high school Free Speech AURORA Preliminary division won the chance to participate in the national competition in the Aurora Foundation All-ASU High School Japanese Speech Contest.  Both Bilal and Joowon have been provided place tickets to attend the contest in Los Angeles, while Bilal also won a $1,000 dollar scholarship from the Japanese Association of Greater Houston.

First, second and third place winners in all categories received certificates and trophies. The first place winner in the Free Speech College & University division also received a round trip ticket to Japan from JASH and the first place winner in the Free Speech Open division received a $125 gift card to Kata Robata from the JET Alumni Association.

The annual Texas State-Wide Japanese Language Speech Contest has enjoyed wide ranging community support and this year the supporters include the Japanese Association of Greater Houston, the Japan Business Association of Houston, the Japanese Teachers Association of Texas, Rice University, Satake USA Inc. and Mrs. LaVerl Daily. After the contest’s conclusion, participants, judges, teachers, and guests enjoyed some light refreshments and the chance to socialize and congratulate one another on an excellent contest. 

Please continue reading to see the results of this year’s Texas State Japanese Speech Contest.

1st
2nd
3rd

Amanda Rosario Claudi
Fiona Yeung 
Andrea Lopez 

Johnson H.S. 
Bellaire H.S. 
Winston Churchill H.S.     

San Antonio
Houston
San Antonio

1st     The Bus Stop

Mario Barrera, Desmon Davis, Emely Montiel, and Elena Nichols

Bellaire H.S. 

Houston

1st                         

Miki Wang