Sophomore Rushabh Patel will represent Stratford in the annual Rotary Club Speech Competition.

Patel was selected by a panel of faculty members on Jan. 11 for his speech, “How does a debate atmosphere affect all of us?”

“I chose this speech because I am a debater, and I think that in-class debates and discussions truly give in-depth knowledge and, in the process of debating, you do research which helps you in the long run,’’ he said.

Patel entered the contest because of his passion of speaking.

“I took public speaking during my freshman year and I enjoyed it,”  he said.

He said he is thrilled to be representing his school.

 “It was a pretty big honor, and I’m really excited,” he said. “Hopefully, I can win it all.”

The next step is a competition consisting of Macon high schools on Feb. 2 at the Strong Tower Fellowship Church at 6 p.m.

“Rotary Club is an international organization that does service in communities around the world,’’ Mrs. Hollie Wangerin, an upper school world history teacher.

Each year, the local Rotary clubs host a speech competition for high school students from grades 9-12. Each student picks a topic that will go through the Rotary four-way test. The test will determine if it is true, if it fair to all concern, does a build a good will in friendship, and is it beneficial to all concern.