Seniors Present 2025 Hemenway Speeches
Six seniors sat on the stage of the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater prepared to give the speech of a lifetime during all-school assembly on Thursday.
The 112th Annual Hemenway Prize for Speaking Competition has been underway for weeks. In March, the entire senior class came together in the theater and listened intently as each member of the class delivered their own thoughtfully crafted, five-minute speech. More than just a platform for soon-to-be graduates to showcase writing and presentation skills, the competition is a unique and powerful bonding experience for the seniors. Head of School Sarah Pelmas blocks off time in her schedule to attend the special day while advisors drop in to hear speeches from their student advisees throughout the day.
The finalists—Caitlin Wang ’25, Celeste Mittelman ’25, Giulia Vitolo ’25, Bibi Noury-Ello ’25, Amelia Kwak ’25, and Paulina Gutierrez ’25—were selected by a panel of judges along with input from all 68 members of Class VIII. Back on stage at assembly, finalists prepared to share their speeches with the whole school.
Ms. Pelmas introduced the seniors and spoke about the history of this annual competition, which has its roots in the core Winsor value of speaking one’s mind. Students share something that they have learned, something that matters to them, or something they want others to understand from their perspective.
Ranging from heartfelt to lighthearted, this year’s finalists shared stories that brought listeners to tears and to their feet. They covered topics such as rejecting the Eurocentric viewpoints of problematic Asian-American movie tropes, pushing through fear to find calm—all while jumping out of a plane with a zealous skydiving father, training your brain to be curious by letting your mind wander and breathe, cherishing an old Volvo and making the most of the time you have with the people you love, paying attention to the actions of elected leaders and holding them accountable when they silence dissenting voices, and harnessing the privilege of a Winsor education and carrying it forward to support the most vulnerable.
The judges for this year’s competition were Spanish Faculty and World Languages Department Head Valentina Paez, Visual Arts Department Head and Eleanor Thomas Nelson ’49 Chair in Fine Arts Sara Macaulay, as well as Winsor alum Sophie Rich ’09. Now the performing arts director at the Atrium School in Watertown, MA, Sophie won the Hemenway Prize as a Winsor senior.
The speeches are judged based on substance, organization, style, presentation, and clarity. The winner of today’s presentations will be announced at the Awards Celebration in June.
Established by an original corporator, Harriett Hemenway, the Hemenway Prize for Speaking Competition traces its roots to 1913. The competition challenges seniors to develop and deliver a speech of substance, and reflects Winsor’s long-held belief in the importance of public speaking skills and the ability to speak one’s mind. A strong, outspoken woman and animal rights activist, Ms. Hemenway founded the Mass. Audubon Society in the late 1800s.
