Last Thursday, 16 students spoke about their love of Bahamian history and culture in the Grand Bahama Independence Committee’s “The Road to 50” speech competition at Wallace Groves Auditorium at Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Academy.
The competition included six junior high students and 10 senior high students who were asked to answer the question, “What are we celebrating?”
Grand Bahama Independence Committee Co-Chairwoman Leslie Dorsett-Lewis said the competition was a great way for the students to learn about their country and foster pride in being Bahamian.
“We wanted our kids to understand how far we’ve come … to understand that we may not be where we want to be, but we have certainly grown by leaps and bounds as a country,” said Dorsett-Lewis.
In the junior high division, Sunland Baptist Academy’s Grace Cooper placed first, Vanena C. Smith Academy’s Thomarie Lockhart came in second, and Excel Institute of Arts’ Toqwann Lightbourne placed third.
In the senior high division, Jack Hayward Senior High School’s Kristin Thompson won first place with Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Academy’s Tai Laing and Sunland Baptist Academy’s James Bain III winning second and third place, respectively.
