RIT Student Honored for Skill in Public Speaking

Michael Peechatt, a second-year game design and development major at Rochester Institute of Technology, was named the winner of the university’s 21st annual fall edition of the Institute Public Speaking Contest during the competition finals on campus Oct. 28.

Peechatt’s winning speech was titled “The Ethics of Video Game Design.” Christopher Nicodemi, a third-year packaging science major, and Jessica Wolfe, a second-year biomedical sciences major, tied for second place. Amina Purak, a fourth-year mechanical engineering major, finished third.

The multi-day, multi-round contest featured a total of 75 students presenting their speeches to a panel of expert judges who graded participants on knowledge of topic, strength of argument and overall delivery.

“The Institute Public Speaking Contest grew out of the Department of Communication’s coursework in public speaking and our desire to incorporate real world opportunities for students to use the skills they were learning,” notes Grant Cos, associate professor of communication at RIT. “Today the contest is a campus-wide event that allows students from all colleges to test their skills and hopefully improve their overall public speaking style and delivery.”

The contest, sponsored by the Department of Communication and the College of Liberal Arts, currently features editions in the fall, winter and spring and participants also have the opportunity to present their speeches to the public as part of the Imagine RIT: Innovation and Creativity Festival in May.