Reported and posted by: Karen Li
Today we went to volunteer for the 14th North Texas TI Cup Chinese Speech Contest. We all arrived early as we need to prepare for the speech contest. This mainly included getting to know each other, learning who was in our room, and going over the procedures one last time. One of the most important things we went over was the roles. As volunteers there were a few roles we could take, Registration, Contest Master, Timer, Sergeant At Arms, and Award Ceremony. So this time was also just finalizing what we had to do for each role. In addition, it also included time for us to eat our lunch, giving us more time to socialize and learn about our peers.
Then the registrations started and the contest masters went downstairs, holding up signs, to help the contents get into their group. Although this was mainly the contest masters job everyone helped, either helping the parents or by setting up the rooms. Then once it hit 1:00 pm we all went inside the auditorium to listen to the brief regards before we split up per the groups and led our contestants up stories into the competition rooms. Once all the kids got settled in the room, the contest master introduced the volunteers and judges before calling up each content to share their speeches. This went on for a while, with times differing from room to room. After each room was done, they went back downstairs to the auditorium for the award ceremony.
Overall, this was a great experience, as the event was mostly led by volunteers, providing us with an excellent opportunity to practice teamwork, communication, organization, and leadership skills. It was also really great to see so many children participating and showcasing their skills in Chinese speech. Their enthusiasm and dedication were truly inspiring, and it was rewarding to be part of an event that fosters cultural exchange and language learning.
Volunteer hours:
Karen Li (event leader): 4hours
MIA Lin: 4hours
Shiyin Lin: 4hours
Ruiping Tian: 4hours
Yu Long: 4hours
Peijia Li: 4hours
Shaoting Wang: 4hours
Kathleen Jiang: 4hours
Endi Wu: 4 hours
HuiyingWu: 4hours
Li Wan: 8hours
