Jackson said contestants were asked to discuss some aspect of the United States Constitution, with some emphasis on the duties and obligations of citizens to their government.

“My speech was based around the idea in the Preamble of the Constitution to “Insure Domestic Tranquility,” he said recently. “I spoke on the need for citizens to train themselves in civility when dealing with those of opposing viewpoints, and made a case for reducing the influence political parties have in electing new representatives; my rationale being that someone less attached to party lines would be more willing to act in the best interest of the people.”

Jackson decided to take part in the contest when school guidance counselor Chris Beaudoin had it announced during morning announcements.

“I had heard of it in the past, but this year I decided to give it a try because the scholarships they offer to participants would be helpful going into college,” Jackson said.

This is Jackson’s first participation in such a competition, but he has had a great deal of public speaking practice through other activities like robotics, Envirothon and in particular theater and serving on the Regional School Unit 73 Board of Directors.

“I’ve engaged with public speaking in a competition on a much smaller scale at Jobs For Maine’s Graduates’ (JMG) Career Development Conference (CDC) where I placed first in my region last year, but that was not nearly as difficult as this contest,” he said.

Jackson said he enjoys public speaking and thinks it’s a great avenue to express thoughts and spread ideas.

“This competition was particularly stressful, as memorizing an entire 8-10 minute speech felt, at times, like an unachievable goal,” he said. “Dealing with this challenge has no doubt made me a better public speaker, and it’s something I would do again in a heartbeat if I could.”

The district competition was held on Sunday, January 26 held over from the 19th due to the weather. Jackson was the only contestant at the district event. He still had to present his speech and meet some criteria of preparedness before advancing to the state competition.

Past Post 10 Commander Donald Simoneau said Jackson is the first student he knows of that represented the local post.

“This is the first time in all my years that Post 10 has had a student compete; couldn’t get any interest,” Simoneau said.

At the state contest there were a total of 7 contestants, each having been nominated as the winner from their respective districts, he said.

“I would also encourage anyone in high school, or those readers with relatives in high school who can recommend them, to take advantage of this opportunity,” Jackson said. “There are scholarships up for grabs to whoever wins the district competition and those who place in the top four at states, as well as a chance to compete at the national event for up to an $18,000 scholarship.

“It’s a really positive experience for anyone who expects to use public speaking in their future careers, and probably for a great number of students who do not.”