AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - On November 1, the six finalists took to the Jay and Susie Gogue Performing Arts Center to determine the winner of Auburn Speaks, a public speaking competition.
As an update from the last story, the six finalists from the Oct. 27 semi-finalist round presented their speeches on Nov. 1.
The winner was declared to be Isabel Zecher with her speech titled "Things You See on an Auburn Jumbotron." Second place was Gracie Barranco, with third place going to Juliet Cannizzo. The remaining three finalists were Sam Boyd, Quinn Johnson, and Riley Pope.
Zecher spoke about the wide variety Auburn fans see on the Jumbotron in Jordan Hare Stadium during home football games. From shirtless basketball players to Homecoming candidates to excited fans to outstanding alumni, there is no telling what fans may see.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking to have so much pressure and attention put on yourself like that, but it was ultimately a really cool thing to get to participate in and it brought a lot of benefits from the scholarship to pushing myself to go on stage and do something I've never done before,” said Zecher.
Zecher was presented with a $4,300 prize that will go towards her education. The award was given by Mike Lutzenkirchen on behalf of the Lutzie 43 Foundation, which was established to honor his son and former Auburn football player, Philip Lutzenkirchen, who passed away from a tragic car accident in 2014.
To close out the ceremony, Mike Lutzenkirchen gave a powerful testimony to his son’s character, gave his vision for the Lutzie 43 foundation and challenged the audience to be safe aware drivers so that what happened to his son would not happen to anyone else.
