Foley & Lardner hosted the final rounds of the virtual MLK Jr. Oratory Competitions for fourth and fifth graders on January 15 in Dallas and Houston.
The winners of the competition were Dominic Patermo, from Harry C. Withers Elementary School in Dallas, and Vivianna Serna, from Crespo Elementary in Houston.
Each of the competitions began with in-school qualifiers conducted by video submission and were followed by semifinals. Students were evaluated based on delivery, stage presence and decorum, and content interpretation and memorization. In the finals, panels of community and business leaders judged the students on their performances.
The competitions are held in conjunction with Martin Luther King Jr. Day to encourage people to remember and pay tribute to the late civil rights leader’s legacy.
Foley & Lardner started the competition in Dallas in 1993 and later established the Houston competition in 1997.