Junior Kashyap Rajagopal placed first at the 72nd Annual American Legion High School State Oratorical Scholarship Program, “A Constitutional Speech Contest,” which was held on Saturday, March 14 in Albany. Rajagopal continued on to the national competition in Indianapolis, Indiana, in which he advanced to the quarterfinals. The competition was held at the Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis Conference Center & Hotel from Friday, April  17 to Sunday, April 19.

The American legion has been holding constitutional speaking contests every year since 1919, awarding scholarship money to the winning contestants. Each contestant in the competition is required to prepare an eight to ten minute speech without notes about a specific aspect of the constitution. After delivering their speech, contestants are asked to speak for three to five minutes without preparation on a topic that is assigned at the competition itself.

Rajagopal is currently a member of the Stuyvesant Speech and Debate team and was coached for the competition by faculty advisor Julie Sheinman. “Kash is a great part of the team and an excellent speaker,” Sheinman said. “We’re all very proud of him.”

According to Rajagopal, being on the team sparked an avid interest in public speaking, and a passion for oratory in general. It was this passion that prompted Rajagopal to enter in the American Legion National Oratorical Contest after coming across it online.

After winning at the district level, Rajagopal moved on to the zone competition and then to the state championships in Albany. There he won first place for a speech about the fourth amendment. As a result, he received six thousand dollars.

Rajagopal is the first person from New York City to win the state championship since 1973. “Stuy should really get into things like this,” Rajagopal said. “Our school is filled with a lot of talent.”