Hannah Watts had a fear of public speaking, being in front of people and being the center of attention. The teenager did what any one other person would not do: she joined the speech and debate team at Columbia High School.
The current Marion County Distinguished Young Woman decided to go a step further. After listening to some older youth talk at a camp earlier this year, she decided to try her hand at the 2020 State Student Speakers’ Tournament through the Mississippi Southern Baptist Convention where she won first place in the open division and received a $500 scholarship to be used at the school of her choice.
“It always scared me being in front of people and you are the only one speaking and you are the focus of attention,” Watts said.
The competition was originally scheduled for April but was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. She had to deliver her speech on the morning of July 25. Each participant had a designated appointment to deliver the speech so she did not know who all had entered or what anyone else’s speech was about. There was only 15 people in the audience in the auditorium. She believed they were all judges.
Around 6 p.m., that night she received an email telling her she had won first place.
Watts did her speech on “If my people,” based on the 2 Chronicles 7:14 Bible verse: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
She said the speech focused on three levels. Instead of using the verse as a blanket for a nation, she turned it to what did it mean as an individual, a church and a nation. Her desire in the speech was to break the verse down to consider things such as “If my people would read the Bible more?” or “If my people would lift each other up instead of tearing each other down?”
“That is what ultimately led to me this topic,” Watts said.
Watts is undecided about where she will attend college so she entered through the open division. One of the schools she is considering, though, is Mississippi College, which is a Baptist college and if she decides to go there she said she will enter the closed division next year. The award for winning the closed division is as much as a full scholarship including room and board to any of the three Baptist colleges in the state, Blue Mountain College, Mississippi College and William Carey University.
“My grandparents met at Mississippi College. That’s the place I always looked at attending,” she said.
In the end, she is looking at schools that will support her major. She is contemplating majoring in public policy, education or pre-law.
The Columbia High School senior said she was grateful for the experience and it helped her overcome her fears and to articulate her words better.
Watts said there was a list of topics for her to base her speech on. Choosing the topic was the hardest part. She said she wrote multiple speeches on different topics, but nothing was standing out to her. The speech could be no longer than six minutes.
The actual speech she used she wrote in one day and on the date it was due. When it came to practicing her speech, she never actually practiced it in front of more than three people. She would video her speech and then critique it.
The daughter of Herb and Sarah Watts, Watts has attended Calvary Baptist Church for almost two years. She said her faith has always been important to her. Chris Turnage is the Youth Director there.
“Hannah is an amazing young lady who strives for perfection. She took it head on,” Turnage said.
Turnage said he is hoping she will do it again next year.
Watts said she hopes other students will participate. She feels like a lot of the students do not know about the competition and hopes others will join. She feels it is a great opportunity for students to get involved in.
Watts will be delivering her award winning speech on Sunday, Aug. 16 at 10:45 a.m. at Calvary Baptist Church.
