JOSEPHIANS | LUMEN
23
A First at the
28th YMCA Plain English Speaking Award ( PESA ) 2014
By Hygin Prasad
It has been a while since SJI won the
PESA award so imagine the delight when SJI emerged victorious not in one category but both categories in the secondary division .
Our outstanding orators ( left to right ): Sebastian and Jonathan
If eloquence is the painting of thought and the poetry of prose then Sebastian Chan Wai Kei from Fintan 103 and Jonathan Soong Wei from Lawrence 304 were crafting sonnets and creating masterpieces at the Plain English Speaking Award on 20 August 2014 . Sterling speeches from both garnered them top honours in both the upper and lower secondary divisions - marking the first time SJI swept the accolades at the annual competition .
Speaking about this unprecedented event , Sebastian noted how elated they both were : “ We didn ’ t go in expecting to win and our two other friends didn ’ t make it past the prelims . It was quite a shock to all of us , as we were up against some fierce competition . It was certainly a surprise to us all but thankfully it was a good surprise .”
Sebastian and Jonathan charted their path to success through three rounds and a plethora of prepared and unprepared speeches to compete with the best from all over Singapore . However , the path to success is always forged with difficulty and hard work as creative processes compete to condense something intangible to tangible . Jonathan found that preparing for the finals was particularly difficult as he had to
choose between different methods of elocution while Sebastian was daunted by being the only Secondary One student in a field of older and
more experienced entrants . However , both drew
inspiration and strength from performance artists
they admire – most notably Sebastian ’ s choice of the uproarious Russell Peters . Watching Sebastian ’ s and Jonathan ’ s speeches , it is clear to see that they are spirited pugilists of words and they are equally fervent in highlighting its importance as Jonathan expresses : “ It ’ s not about structures of essays and black and white rules ; it is about being passionate about the language as an art and I love that . Speaking plainly is speaking at its best . If nobody can understand you , then what ’ s the point in speaking at all ? It is a platform to communicate with people and maybe , impact them in some way . It gives new meaning to our ideas .” Such big words are only spoken by those that have stood on the shoulders of giants which both of them graciously and gratefully accept as Sebastian went on to say , “ I truly believe that SJI is a great place to develop public speaking potential . All my teachers have been very supportive in my oratorical development . I would especially like to thank Ms Lim Boon Siang , my parents and domestic helper and friends who were all very supportive .”
Jonathan quipped , “ There are too many people I ’ d like to thank : Ms Periasamy , Mrs Jammie Chua , Mr Soo Chan Hua and all the other teachers , friends and family who have supported me and given me inspiration ”.
Congratulations again to Jonathan and Sebastian for this unique achievement for themselves and the school . Lumen wishes these two young orators all the best in the years ahead and hope that they will achieve more success in all their areas of endeavour .