Sloan, 15, was following in the footsteps of her big sister Jesse Anne Sloan who, last year, won high accolades speaking in the Lions' club's contests.
Now Jesse Anne Sloan is 19, and studying communication and the Bible at The Master's College in Southern California. And Claire Sloan is taking the mike on her own.
 Claire Sloan smiles after winning a first-place trophy at a National Christian Forensics and Communication Association speech debate and tournament held in San Diego in January. |
She had warmed up for it by winning a recent contest hosted by American Legion Pacifica Post 238, on which she spoke on the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
On Tuesday, she was one of two teens who gave an under-10-minute speech on "Immigration: My Solution," a topic set forth by contest organizers. She won that round, and is continuing in the regional competition.
At stake is about $10,000 in scholarship money, which Sloan hopes to eventually put toward her goal of attending a private Christian college. She is not sure where she wants to go from there; she is considering majoring in English with thoughts of being either an author or a speechwriter, and politics has flashed through her mind as well.
But for now she is content to get a handle on public speaking - which once petrified her.
Homeschooled throughout her life, she was just 12 when her mother signed both her and her sister up with the National Christian Forensics and Communication Association, a Washington state-based organization that believes that speech and debate offers homeschooled students a means to master oratorical skills.
She wasn't enthused.
"I was terrified of public speaking," she said. "I wanted nothing to do with it."
But her mother gave the girls no choice, and Sloan is glad of that now.
"It was an incredible opportunity for me," she said.
Once "extremely shy" as a child, public speaking has helped her become poised, articulate - and confident.
"It's given me skills I can use my whole life," she said. "I was the one standing behind my mom, who didn't know how to adjust. Now I can meet people, hold conversations with strangers. It has given me more confidence."
That was a resource upon which Sloan had to draw on Feb. 12, knowing that some views contained in her "Immigration: My Solution" speech might bring a negative response.
"I took the less popular point of view, because that's what I believe," she explained.
Sloan's speech argued against illegal immigration on the basis of a negative impact on the economy, public health and the nation's crime rate. Sloan faced the fact that her stance could draw its own negative impact with poise and equanimity.
"I know I may be opposed, that it may mean I have to fight harder and speak better when I reach the upper levels" of the contest, she said. "I think it's more important to speak firmly what I believe than to bend to pressures of what people want."
In the weeks before the contest, she researched her topic by voracious reading and delving into online sources. Her parents helped her with grammatical obstacles. And coaching from sister Jesse Anne "definitely helped."
Next will be the second round, in which she will face other young peers, at a time yet to be determined.
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