Schools
Local students learn from world leaders
The Ringling Speaker series connects Lakewood Ranch High School seniors with some of today's most influential newsmakers.
Sarah Watts – Mustangs Ahead
(LAKEWOOD RANCH, FL) – Every spring, Sarasota’s Van Wezel auditorium holds the Ringling Speaker Series. Throughout February and March, four influencers will be giving speeches at this event and eight Lakewood Ranch High School (LRHS) seniors will attend.
LRHS is the only high school in Manatee County to attend this event. The seniors who attend these speeches will also attend a meet and greet. After attending, the seniors will enter an essay written about their speaker that will make them eligible for a $2,000 scholarship.
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On Feb. 6, seniors Herschel Herring and Julie Cotton went to James Balog’s speech. Balog is a photographer who specializes in photographing nature. He has won the World Press Photo Award for Nature and World Press Photo Award for Science & Technology.On Feb. 13, seniors Courtney Krieling and Catherine Azkue will be attending Geena Davis’ speech. Davis is an actress, film producer, writer, and former model. Davis is most known for acting in “Stuart Little,” “The Fly” and “Beetlejuice.”
Jared Cohen, the president of Jigsaw, will be giving a speech on Feb. 20. Seniors Chris Harb and Brice Easton will be attending Cohen’s speech.
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Finally, Kofi Annan will be giving his speech on March 20. Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as secretary general of the United Nations. Seniors Eva Gonzalez and Carrina Ferraris will be attending this speech.
LRHS social studies teacher Ben Hall said this is an amazing opportunity for LRHS seniors, as over the past two years, students have won $8,000 from this event.
