Bethany Bluel, senior, and Griffin Minter, sophomore, qualified for the state Optimist Oratory Contest that will take place on April 29 in Ottawa, Kan.

In order to qualify, Minter took first place in the city-wide competition while Bluel took third.

Before the city-wide competition, Minter and Bluel had to compete in the first round of the Optimist Oratory Contest.

The Linwood Support Center was where the first competition was held and Bethany Bluel, senior, Ben Heigele, Griffin Minter, Andrea Vandenbark sophomores represented South in the competition.

The students’ topic was “what the world gains from optimism,” Helen Hardgree, QUEST teacher, said.

Minter wrote and spoke about scientific inventions and progress because of how they promote optimistic beliefs. Bluel wrote and spoke about Calvin Coolidge’s address to the Massachusetts State Legislature and talked about how everyone has an innate desire to do good.

Bluel also gave many more examples of people who have a desire to do good in the world.

The Optimist Oratory Contest is done for a scholarship that is worth $1,000 and can help students get into a liberal arts college.

“The competition is a one shot deal,” Hardgree said.

This means that a competitor must place in the top three each round or they will be eliminated. The contest culminates with the state -wide competition.