2 cadets place in top 3 at speech contest

  • Published
  • By Ray Bowden
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo --  Two Japanese-language cadets at the Air Force Academy won prizes at a collegiate speech contest Nov 7.

Cadet 4th Class Esther Kim's "I love Anime!" presentation took second place and Cadet 4th Class Christine Lew's "Origami" presentation took third place at the Colorado-Wyoming Japanese Speech Contest in Colorado Springs.

Kim, of Buena Park, California, and Lew, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, competed against students from universities in Colorado and Wyoming, including Pikes Peak Community College, the University of Colorado at Boulder and Colorado State University.   

Both cadets' speeches were in Japanese.

"I was very surprised when I won because there were so many other good speakers in our category," Lew said. "Following the surprise, I felt appreciative of everyone who helped me because it all was for a good purpose."

The event was Lew's first speech contest.

"I prepared by creating a speech about a topic I'm passionate about," she said. "In this case, it was origami and how it helped me at the Academy. After creating my speech, I just kept saying the speech aloud repeatedly until I had the correct tone and it was all memorized."

Kim said her first language was English, but her parents are Korean so she speaks a Korean dialect at home.

"I got into to Japanese because of my martial arts -- Kendo," she said. "I spent quite a long time around a Japanese community, so Japanese came a little naturally."

Yoshimitsu Khan, a professor in the Academy's Language Department, said the cadets' performance at the contest shows the dedication of language department staff and cadets. 

"It showed that the Academy's foreign language program is very active, and those students are very serious in learning Japanese," he said. "[The contest] also encourages other Japanese language students to be active in learning the language."

Kim, 18, is considering majoring in history, legal studies or foreign area studies. Lew, 18, is considering majoring in civil engineering.

"I think the Colorado-Wyoming Japanese Speech Contest was a wonderful experience and one I definitely want to do again," Lew said. "It pushed me outside of my comfort zone and taught me how to conduct myself for a speech."

The event is sponsored by the Colorado Japanese Language Education Association and cosponsored by the Consulate General of Japan in Denver and the Japan Foundation Los Angeles.