Philly middle-schooler Fertuna Mengitsu, middle, with other speech contest finalists. Photo: Courtesy of Philadelphia Academies, Inc.
Philly middle-schooler Fertuna Mengitsuwon a citywide speech contest this week with her address on the importance of building community in schools.
Why it matters: Speeches can launch careers. Just ask Mayor Cherelle Parker, who credits a high school speech contest with helping build her impressive oratorical skills.
What they're saying: "The future of Philadelphia lies in the hands of us and the everyday decisions we make," Mengitsu, a seventh-grader at Martha Washington Academics Plus School, said in her remarks.
"It is not money that makes a change. It is not elections that make a change. It is not I that makes a change. It is we."
