Speech Trek, an annual speech contest, began in 2007 & has been AAUW California’s signature high school program. The contest is open to girls & boys who are actively enrolled in high school (grades 9-12). The contests begin at the branch level. First-place winners’ videos from each participating branch are then uploaded for judging. The top three contestants advance to the state finals & compete for cash awards.
Speech Trek for 2025 will be the last statewide contest.
The topic for 2025 is as follows:
Climate change is happening. The effects are widespread and touch upon almost all aspects of our life on this planet. Select one area of impact and explore the effect climate change is having on women in the USA, and around the world.
The 2025 state contest prize amounts will be as follows:
1st: $2500
2nd: $2000
3rd: $1000
4th: $500
5th: $500
Winners of the Oakdale, Riverbank, Escalon Branch Speech Trek Contest will also receive cash prize.
2022-2023 Speech Trek Topic :
How Can Communities, Organizations, and Citizens of All Ages Help Protect and Expand Voting Rights?
Donations to Speech Trek are tax deductible. Checks must be written to AAUW CA SPF with Speech Trek on the memo line.
2019-20 Contest Topic:
Women have been marching toward equality for over 100 years, starting with the Women’s March of 1913 and continuing to the Women’s Marches at present. Are men and women truly equal today, or are the Suffragettes of 1920 still suffering in 2020?
Anahi Valverde placed first in the Oakdale Riverbank Escalon Branch level contest on February 26th. She competed against three other contestants: Brayden Storey (2nd place), Carson Dowlin, 3rd place, and Claire Cummins, 4th place.
Speech Trek is a speaking contest open to all California high school students, whether from public, private, home or continuation high schools. Students who were among the top three finalists in the State Contest may not compete again.
2018-2019 Contest Encouraged Students to Speak for Their Lives
The 2018-2019 Speech Trek topic was: “How can we–students, parents, faculty, our communities, and organizations such as AAUW–eliminate violence aimed at our schools? What actions can we take to prevent another tragedy from taking place?”
Four Oakdale High School students competed in the 2019 Oakdale Riverbank Escalon Branch level contest on February 27nd. Pictured are, from left, Owen Pena (1st Place), Gage Ferreira, (3rd Place), Instructor, Jonathan Byron, Jennifer Reeves (2nd place), and Annabel Lee.
2017-2018 Contest Topic
How Can We Stand up to Sexism?
Five Oakdale High School students competed in the 2018 Oakdale Riverbank Escalon Branch level contest on February 22nd. Pictured are, from left, Jennifer Reeves (2nd place), Dyllon James, Alex Stevens (3rd place), Kendal Houck (1st place) and Grace Leijten.
Actress Emma Watson created the HeForShe campaign, which states in part:
“Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong…it is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, not as two opposing sets of ideals. If we stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we are–we can all be freer and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.”
According to Britannica.com, sexism is defined as “prejudice or discrimination based on sex or gender, especially against women and girls. Although its origin is unclear, the term sexism emerged from the so-called “second-wave” feminism of the 1960s through the ’80s and was most likely modeled on the civil rights movement’s term racism (prejudice or discrimination based on race). Sexism can be a belief that one sex is superior to or more valuable than another sex. It imposes limits on what men and boys can and should do and what women and girls can and should do. The concept of sexism was originally formulated to raise consciousness about the oppression of girls and women, although by the early 21st century it had sometimes been expanded to include the oppression of any sex, including men and boys, intersexual people, and transgender people.”
How can we stand up to sexism? What can individuals and organizations such as AAUW do to break down stereotypes and biases in school, at work, in the military, and in our communities?