2025 Undergraduate Research, Creativity, and Innovation (URCI) Excellence in Oratory Forum
Anecdote by Joshua Fleitas
In 2025, ACU held its annual URCI Festival Excellence in Oratory Forum. This year saw 11 participants each deliver some of their most compelling and thought-provoking speeches to a panel of judges. I, Joshua Fleitas, participated in this competition, and I must say, before anything else, the competition is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If you’re unaware, the Excellence in Oratory Forum is a competition in oration as a kick-off to the URCI Festival. Students chosen by their COMM120 professors gather to deliver their best speeches. It is an opportunity for these students to come and present some truth to an audience of eager listeners. As for my experience, it was quite nuanced. The moment I was selected to participate, I already knew which speech I would present. My speech, Lament: A Requiem, was one where I wanted to make sure I could get as many people as I could to hear my words. Of course, I am not a stone-cold speech machine, so I was met with my fair share of anxiety and stage fright. However, once I arrived at that pedestal, the words danced from my mouth. The feeling of elocution that took hold of my senses in that moment was unlike anything I had ever experienced. To be able to speak about something I am so passionate about in a pulpit like the Excellence in Oratory Forum is something that I truly wish everyone could experience. If you get nothing else from this post…
Don’t miss your chance to get up on that stage!
2026 Undergraduate Research, Creativity, and Innovation (URCI) Excellence in Oratory Forum
Description by Joshua Fleitas
Eleven students were chosen by their COMM120 professors (who represented the top 1.8% of speeches given in COMM 120 Fall 2025) to deliver excellent speeches to a panel of judges and over a hundred people. Although our Excellence in Oratory Forum is presented as a competition, the aim of the URCI Excellence in Oratory Forum is to celebrate public speaking as a form of intellectual accomplishment. Each of these eleven students had done outstanding work not only in their classes, but also working on their elocution skills, which gave them the confidence to stand proud upon a stage before eager listeners. The Excellence in Oratory Forum is beyond a competition; it is a pulpit in which students are allowed to share what makes them. What gives you life? What brings you joy? What is it that others deserve to hear? These are the questions the students take upon themselves, and it is up to them to enlighten the audience.
Here are some of our 2026 participants in action!
Isabella Perazza
DJ Hurley
Heath Shim
Amelie Aquino
Jodeyah Mills
Speaking Center on Facebook