Khan Wins Second Place in English Speaking Union Contest

  ASHEBORO (March 21, 2007)

 Tarha Khan of Asheboro, a student in the Associate in Arts (College Transfer) curriculum at Randolph Community College, took second place in the English Speaking Union Speech Contest in Southern Pines, N.C., on March 10.

 Khan’s speech, “Images of Opportunity,” identified the possibilities that films have to make a positive difference on a worldwide scale. With Khan’s second place position, she is also first alternate, which means if the winner cannot go to London to compete on the international level, Khan may go in her place, according to Clark Adams, RCC English instructor and faculty advisor for the speech contest. Khan graduates from RCC this year and plans to study psychology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

 Jennifer Hardin of Asheboro also competed in the contest and performed well with her speech, “Identity Theft – a Worldwide Epidemic,” said Adams. “In her speech, she spoke about the dangers of conformity, the loss of individualism, and what we can do to avoid conformity and the loss of our individuality,” he said. Hardin is also a College Transfer student.

The English Speaking Union Contest only selects first and second place winners. This year’s participants were students of Randolph Community College, Sandhills Community College, Central Carolina Community College, and Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines.

This is the fourth year that RCC students have competed. In 2006, Brian Brown took first place and represented RCC in London; in 2005, Amelia Montefusco took second place; and in 2004, Kandace Landers placed second.