The TCBA held the preliminary round of the TCBA Law Day Speech Contest for high school students on April 23, 2025, at the Thurston County Courthouse. The topic this year was “Should birthright citizenship extend to all persons born in the United States or only to those whose parents are legally in the United States? ” Thank you to our panel of judges, Thurston County Superior Court Judge, the Honorable Mary Sue Wilson, and two TCBA Board of Directors, Marie Docter and Jeffrey Carr, for judging the preliminary round. We had five participants this year.
All of the students did an amazing job preparing and presenting their speeches for the preliminary round. Alijah Manzanares, Monica Peddi, and Alice Hillier advanced to the finals which was held during a West Olympia Rotary Club meeting at Tugboat Annie’s on April 29, 2025.
The West Olympia Rotary Club selected three members from the audience to be judges during the final round. The three finalists did an amazing job presenting their speeches once again. After deliberation by the judges, first place was awarded to Alijah Manzanares, a senior at Capital High School, second place was awarded to Monica Peddi, a senior at Olympia High School, and third place was awarded to Alice Hillier, a senior at Olympia High School.
The TCBA presented scholarship money to each finalist ($800 for first place, $600 for second place, and $400 for third place) and the West Olympia Rotary Club presented each of the finalists with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place plaque.
