Two students from Pequea Valley High School (PVHS) recently visited the Rotary Club of Paradise to share the speeches they had prepared for the annual Rotary Four-Way Test Speech Contest. Guided by their English teacher, Olivia Sieg, Tre Rosa and Jaylen Ray each selected a topic and wrote a speech about how it relates to Rotary's Four-Way Test. Created in 1932 by Rotary member Herbert J. Taylor, the Four-Way Test asks the following questions of the things one thinks, says, or does: "Is it the truth?" and "Is it fair to all concerned?" as well as "Will it build goodwill and better friendships?" and "Will it be beneficial to all concerned?"

Tre, a junior at PVHS, shared his speech titled "Perfectly Imperfect," in which he explored the concept of forgiveness and how young people must recognize and accept that adults in their lives are not perfect but that they can still learn and grow from their mistakes. Tre, the son of Ben and Becky Rosa, plans to continue his education beyond high school with the goal of becoming an agriculture education teacher.

Jaylen, a senior at PVHS, reflected on her personal experiences attending school in both Pennsylvania and Illinois as she applied the Four-Way Test to the challenges faced by students in need. Jaylen, the daughter of Lynn Ray and Jay Prousa, plans to attend Penn State University to study early childhood education with the goal of becoming an early childhood or elementary school teacher.

Both Tre and Jaylen will now compete in the Mid-Level Four-Way Test Speech Contest, which will be held virtually on Saturday, March 5. The top two students from that competition will move on to the Four-Way Test Speech Contest Finale, which will take place during the Rotary District 7390 Conference on Saturday, May 7.

The Rotary Club of Paradise was established in 1956 and serves communities in southeastern Lancaster County, including East Lampeter, Paradise, Leacock, Strasburg, and Upper Leacock townships and Bird-in-Hand, Bridgeport, Intercourse, Leola, and Ronks. The club meets on the first and third Thursdays of the month at noon at the district office of the Conestoga Valley School District. To learn more about the Rotary Club of Paradise, visit http://www.paradiserotarypa.org.