Tomorrow’s Leaders: Forsyth County Youth Sweep Public Speaking Contest

Heather Haines, 4-H Agent, UGA Extension Forsyth County

Fear of public speaking is a common form of anxiety and can range from slight nervousness to panic. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Mental Health, 75% of people fear public speaking more than death. However, as youth prepare to enter the workforce, public speaking is an essential skill that they need in order to advance their careers.  Whether it’s presenting ideas to colleagues, pitching to clients, or speaking at conferences, those who can articulate their thoughts clearly and persuasively tend to advance more quickly in their careers. Public speaking is also an essential skill for leadership roles. Leaders must inspire and motivate others through their words, whether addressing a team, delivering a speech, or presenting a vision to stakeholders.

Through Georgia 4-H, youth have the opportunity to begin practicing public speaking early in their academic careers. Youth can begin competing in public speaking contests in 4-H when they are in 4^th grade and can continue competing through their senior year of high school. Contests are broken up into age groups: Cloverleafs (4^th-6^th grade), Juniors (7^th and 8^th grade), and Seniors (9^th-12^th grade).

In Forsyth County, our youngest competitors, Cloverleafs, start with County Project Achievement (CPA). Youth must select a project area of interest, research the topic, write a speech, and present it in front of judges using a poster and prop. From Bicycle to Wildlife, there are over fifty different categories for youth to choose from.  Some of the more popular project areas include sports, animals, history, and science.

This year CPA was held at the Forsyth County Extension Office. Youth who competed at the county level earned the opportunity to compete at the District level on February 8, 2025, in Newton County. Extension staff members, volunteer leaders, and 284 students from across North Georgia attended the contest. The most popular projects were: Sports Team (22), Wildlife (17), General Recreation (17), General Science (14), Engineering and Mechanics (14), Historic People (13), and Environmental Science (12).

Competitors from Forsyth County included:

Akshita Lamdade, Agriculture Awareness, 1^st place

Ayn Fathima Arun, Agriculture Awareness, 3^rd place

Anvita Lambade, Current People, Places, and Events, 1^st place

Jal Vaghani, Engineering and Mechanics, 2^nd place

Arnav Bhatnagar, Environmental Science, 1^st place

Arjun Patel, Environmental Science, 3^rd place

Isabella Bonogofsky, Environmental Science, 4^th place

Vihaan Patel, Environmental Science, 3^rd place

Dhyani Savaliya, General Science, 3^rd place

Shaurya Patel, General Science, 2^nd place

Adhya Patel, Human Development, 1^st place

Yana Rymer, Interior Design, 1^st place

Khush Dave, International, 1^st place

Emma Haines, Performing Arts-General, 1^st place

Nirvi Sanam, Performing Arts-General, 1^st place

Tyler Barnaby, Sports-Team, 2^nd place

Forsyth County 4-H also earned a plaque for having the highest percentage of winners at the contest.