GLENDORA STUDENT WINS THE $3,000 ROTARY FOUR-WAY SPEECH PRIZE!

The Rotary Four-Way Test: Of the things we think, say, or do:
Is it the TRUTH?
Is it FAIR to all concerned?
Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?”

Each year the Rotary District 5300 sponsors its Four-Way Speech Contest, where high school students from Nevada and this part of Southern California compete for the chance to win cash prizes. This year, Glendora High School Junior, Grace Liang, took first place at the club, area, region, and district levels.  Along the way, she earned $3,425 in prize money!  

Grace first heard about Rotary in 9th grade from her French teacher, Mr. George Hoffmeister, who had received a scholarship from Rotary that funded his studies abroad in France.  He urged her to look into how the club could benefit her as well.  This year, she was encouraged to enter the 4-Way competition by her AP Language and Composition teacher, Ms. Bell.  Since this was the first speech contest that she has participated in, she also gives credit to Dr. Phil Chase, who encouraged and coached her through the writing of her speech. 

The Rotary Club of Glendora also provided encouragement and support along the way.  Local attorney Jack Gordon and club President Dennis Franklin coordinated with her at each step of the way.  They arranged to have Grace work with their partners at Toastmasters to help her sharpen her public speaking skills.  Peter Romero from Toastmasters took on that responsibility.  He worked with her on a weekly basis for two months helping her hone her presentation.

When asked to share a little bit about herself, Grace stated that the Liang family moved to Glendora from Ohio when she was 11 years old.  She enrolled in Sandburg Middle School where she was champion in middle school Lincoln-Douglas debate in the Southern California Junior Forensics League for the fall season of 2017, the student conductor for middle school district winter concert, and competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Grace is a chess enthusiast who has successfully competed in state and national tournaments.  Among other titles, she won first place in the 2018 American Open Chess Championship Blitz.  Grace is also the President of the Chess Club at Glendora High School, a talented violinist, and was concertmistress of Glendora High School orchestra. During quarantine this year, she spent time gardening, swimming, and playing ping pong with her mom.

With the $3,425 in prize money, Miss Liang plans to buy a better computer for school, and save the rest to help pay for a 4-year university where she would like to major in humanities or the arts.

Grace stated that she is extremely thankful for the opportunity that The Rotary Club of Glendora made available.  She said that she, is now more confident about public speaking and believes that what she has learned by participating in the competition will benefit her for the rest of her life.  Not only that, she also conveyed that, “the 4-way test can be applied to all aspects of life; I will definitely use the 4-way test as a standard of measuring actions and events from now on.”

The Rotary Club of Glendora, Toastmasters, and the Glendora Unified School District congratulates Grace Liang on winning the 2021 Rotary District 5300 Four-Way Speech Contest.  Way to go Grace!!!!

History of the Four Way Test

The 4-Way Test, which was created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. He penned a 24-word test for employees to follow in their business and professional lives.  The survival of the company is credited to his simple philosophy. It is now one of the world’s most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics.  It was adopted by Rotary International in 1943.  Since that time, it has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways.

Get more information about Glendora Rotary at http://www.rotaryofglendora.org