Armenian Educational Foundation Hosts Seventh Annual Oratorical Competition at UCLA
A contestant makes presentation at the AEF Oratorical Competition
The Armenian Educational Foundation hosted its Seventh Annual Oratorical Competition on Sunday, February 1, at UCLA’s Hershey Hall, awarding scholarships to the student winners.
The event, held in collaboration with UCLA’s Center for World Languages, brought together students, educators, families, and community leaders for a day dedicated to academic and public speaking excellence. The 18 final contestants demonstrated their command of communication and thoughtfully crafted responses to the competition’s prompts, resulting in a fierce competition and four final winners who each received an educational scholarship from AEF.
Participating schools this year included AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School, Armenian Mesrobian School, Armenian Sisters’ Academy, Chamlian Armenian School, Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School, Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School, and Sahag-Mesrob Armenian Christian School.
The winners of the Oratorical Competition 2026 were announced during award ceremonies recognizing each student’s exceptional talent, preparation, and eloquence.
In the Middle School contest, David Gasparyan of AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School was named the Armenian winner, and Eric Sardarbegian of Rose and Alex Pilibos Armenian School was named the English winner.
In the High School contest, Areni Ekmekchyan of Holy Martyrs Ferrahian High School was named the Armenian winner, and Harout Karadanaian of AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School was named the English winner. Each winner received a $1,000 educational scholarship in recognition of their achievement and commitment to academic excellence.
High School English competition winner Harout Karadanaian with AEF Board President George IssaiansTeni Karapetian, Director of Nonfiction, Comedy, Sports, and LIVE Publicity at Netflix, led the program as the Master of Ceremonies. Her professional background contributed to the event’s engaging and inspiring atmosphere.
The competition’s distinguished panel of judges, whose professional backgrounds spanned law, media, academia, medicine, public policy, and the arts, brought diverse professional perspectives to the evaluation process.
Judges for the Armenian Middle School division included Ani Adjemian of the USC Gould School of Law, Ara Khachatourian of Asbarez, and historian and theologian Ani Shahinian, PhD.
The English Middle School division was evaluated by Katherine Sarafian of Pixar Animation Studios, Armen Karaoghlanian of the Armenian Film Society, and Lisa Markarian of the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
Serving as judges for the Armenian High School division were Anahit Baghshetsyan of the Nevada Policy Research Institute, author and academic Talar Chahinian, PhD, and Armen Aboulian, MD of Kaiser Permanente.
The English High School division was judged by Alexandra Kazarian of Geragos & Geragos and the law office of Alexandra Kazarian, Rev Lebaredian of NVIDIA, and Ramela Ohanian of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP.
