Sophomore Emily Schutte presented a speech in response to the topic “Foreign Policy, Free Speech, and Academic Freedom” at the competition.
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When sophomore Emily Schutte saw the topic for the 24th annual Edward Everett Oratory Competition, she knew she had to enter. Her memorized presentation on “Foreign Policy, Free Speech, and Academic Freedom” earned her first place and a prize of $3,000 in a competition against four other finalists on March 5.

A past competitor in competitive high school speech and debate and the American Legion’s Oratorical Contest, Schutte said she heard of the oratory competition before coming to Hillsdale and first participated in her freshman year. 

“I liked the topic a lot better this year,” she said. “It was definitely something that I felt more passionate about.”

Last year’s topic was “Is Social Media Good for Us?” and was won by current senior Caleb Sampson.

Schutte advanced past the preliminary round on Feb. 16. Her prize included the cash award as well as a photo and signature of Edward Everett, the American politician and orator who is the competition’s namesake. 

Everett served as a U.S. representative, senator, governor of Massachusetts, secretary of state, unitarian pastor, and president of Harvard University. He is best known for speaking directly before President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. 

The drafting, memorization, and presentation process for her speech was arduous and lengthy, Schutte said. 

“I started writing my speech the week before coming back to campus for the spring semester,” she said. 

Schutte said she split the manuscript up among notecards and memorized one at a time, combining them together until she mastered the entire speech. From there, she worked with Professor of Rhetoric and Public Address and Director of Forensics Kirstin Kiledal on creating a presentation strategy.

“Dr. Kiledal gave me some really helpful tips on what to avoid, like facing away from the audience, how to position myself, and how to not overdo movements and hand gestures,” she said. 

Kiledal coached the Everett competitors throughout the entire process.

“The students are a joy to work with — it is lovely to get to know them as people as I assist them through drafting, coaching, and competing,” Kiledal said. 

Schutte said support from her family helped her with the many hours of writing, editing, and preparation. One of them is Sarah Schutte ’18, who is an editor as well as podcast manager at National Review.

“My older sister is an editor and my mom has always helped me with my speeches,” she said, adding that her mom helped her incorporate stories of the Schutte’s family meetings into her thesis about free speech and academic freedom. 

Although the topic spanned various levels of political philosophy and policy, Schutte said she tried to avoid writing a strictly political speech and instead sought to explain her thesis through anecdotes and personal experience. 

“A lot of people really relate to family stories, patriotic stories, stories about real people and real things,” she said. “Narrative is a powerful way to persuade people because it’s a way of giving them a concrete example of how they can do it in their lives. That’s why I always sit down and start by looking for a story and I build my case around that story.”

In her speech, Schutte used the example of family meetings in her household to explain the impact of both words and nonverbal cues on free speech. “Fix your face!” was a common expression in the Schutte family and served as a reminder to welcome healthy, honest, and uncensored communication, Schutte said, a fundamental principle that she argued must permeate America’s educational institutions and its relations with other countries.

Schutte’s story of her family’s household meetings and her mom’s phrase “Fix your face!” was especially effective, as she said several audience members told her they were going to adopt that phrase. 

“That was really special because it’s just a family saying that we have, and it was special that it was impactful enough to stick with people,” she said.

The competition was judged by College President Larry Arnn, Chairman of Politics Department John Grant, and businessman and motivational speaker Don Tocco. The other finalists were seniors Victoria Kelly and Konrad Verbaarschott and sophomores Mattie Grace Watson and Patrick McDonald. Senior Jacob More was selected as the alternate finalist.

“We had a strong set of finalists this year,” Kiledal said. “Dr. Arrn, Dr. Grant, and Mr. Tocco were quite impressed with the entries as a whole.” 

Schutte said presenting her speech for the judges and the audience was nerve-wracking, but that her passion for the topic and the support of her friends and family made it an enjoyable experience.

“What really helped me was when I looked out into the audience and saw my friends and my mom and my younger brother,” she said. “It just meant so much to look out into the audience and see people who were rooting me on. And the other contestants were just wonderful people and really encouraging. Konrad Verbaarschott even prayed for all of the competitors before we started.”

Verbaarschott won second prize, and said that although the competition was fierce, the support and camaraderie from his fellow finalists made the experience enjoyable.

“The experience of vying for the Everett prize was certainly intense, but not cutthroat,” he said. “Backstage, we all prayed together before each student gave their speech. You could feel that while each of us wanted to win, we also wanted to see our fellow competitors shine. It was an atmosphere of encouragement and excellence – what a blessing to be a part of something like that.”

Verbaarschott said Schutte’s personality and speaking style made her presentation stand out.

“Emily has a sweet, approachable style and she spoke from the heart about her family,” he said. “Dr. Arnn appreciated that, and I think that’s what he was looking to hear.”

Schutte said she was surprised when Arnn announced that she had won the competition. 

“My first reaction was definitely shock, and then extreme gratitude because I never expected that,” she said. “It was an amazing experience and very rewarding. Especially because of how much time and work I put into it, it was just a huge win for me.”