Six students filed into Spaulding Auditorium, eager to follow in the footsteps of inspiring speakers like Julia Roberts and Neil Patrick Harris. The students were participating in the annual Optimist Oratorical Speech Contest hosted by Public Speaking instructor Trish McHale at Laguna on March 12. The nation-wide contest boasts these celebrities as previous winners. Other alumni of the contest include Laguna alumnus Andrew McCaffery ‘12 who won the District level in 2011.Clara Hillis ‘17 and Kathryn Norris ‘18 participated in this year’s contest alongside four San Marcos students, presenting speeches on the topic: “How My Optimism Will Help Me to Greater Achievements of the Future.”he contest was started in 1928 and aims to promote experience in public speaking and provide youth with the chance of winning a college scholarship. This year’s first place went to a speaker from San Marcos, and Norris won first runner-up.Both will compete in the next level of the competition in Ojai this month.The winner of the Ojai level will advance to the finals, the Pacific Southwest District Level contest, on May 16 in San Pedro. “It was definitely a surprise, but it was really cool to have the opportunity to advance and spread my optimism to even more people. I’m hopeful I will continue to advance,” Norris said.