GREENFIELD — Two Vista Verde Middle School students, Nelson Najera and Alberto Chacon, participated in the Migrant Speech Competition on March 18.
Eighth-graders Najera and Chacon presented speeches on curfews and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers.
“I was against curfews,” Chacon said. “Because studies have proven that they don’t help out the community. And, the crime rates just keep getting higher and higher when curfews are placed in cities.”
Najera prepared a speech on STEM careers.
“STEM is going to be here forever,” Najera said. “In the future, the machines that STEM develops are going to be used for jobs that people have. So it’s better to study for a STEM career than something else.”
Najera is considering pursuing a career in mathematics.
The Migrant Speech Competition speeches took approximately a month for Chacon and Najera to complete. The competition is through the Migrant program, and speeches were to be no longer than four minutes.
The competition took place at Harden Middle School in Salinas. Students from Vista Verde Middle School, Chalone Peaks Middle School, Washington Middle School and Fairview Middle School and High School participated.
Chacon and Najera said they would take part in the Migrant Speech Competition again. Najera plans to prepare a speech in high school and Chacon wanted to add the achievement on to his accomplishments for college applications.
