Pleasanton Teens Found 'Speak Out Foundation' For Area Youth

PLEASANTON, CA — Keerthana Nallamotu is a student at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, but just because it's summer break doesn't mean the incoming junior is sitting idle. About a year ago, she and a few friends—Allison Lee, Jaski Halait, Deepak Ragu, Abhishek Koul and Kiran Suresh—founded the nonprofit Speak Out Foundation, which helps build confidence and speaking skills in young kids. The organization has been holding weekly classes in local schools such as Fairlands Elementary and Mohr Elementary, as well as summer speech workshops at the Pleasanton Library. Now the group is holding its first speech competition Friday at Inklings Coffee and Tea in Pleasanton.

During the event that runs from 4-6:30 p.m., approximately 10-15 participants, ages 6th through 8th grade, will each deliver a 3- to 5-minute speech on the topic: "What is an issue that you would want to fix in the world, and how would you do that?" The competition will be judged by officers from Foothill High School's Model United Nations and debate clubs.

Nallamotu said that she and her fellow Speak Out Foundation founders are very passionate about public speaking, and all are active in debate and Model United Nations. But the friends noticed that there were very few opportunities for young students in elementary and middle school to learn the important skill of public speaking to "voice their opinions about the world regardless of their age, gender or socioeconomic background," Nallamotu explained.

"We wanted to share our passion for public speaking with youth in the community as we did not have this opportunity back when we were young," she continued. "For this reason, we began providing free classes and events for students in the Tri-Valley area."

Come out to support the organization and the youth competitors Friday. Inklings Coffee and Tea is located at 530 Main Street.