Jeremy White, freshman English second education major, was the winner of the “Celebrating Our Differences Together” speech contest on Nov. 8.

Jennifer Likeum, chair of the 2010 Unity in Diversity Speech Contest, said she thought the evening went well.

Likeum said the speeches were interesting and believed all of the contestants did a good job.

Coming here through the CHANCE program, White spoke about his “Life in Silence,” which provided an interesting perspective of being an interpreter for deaf culture.

“He’s a great overall student and serious in a way that provides balance to his personality,” said Julie Martin, his lab leader who helped him prepare for his speech.

White said he wanted to help the audience understand more about what it means to be deaf.

“There is a lot of discrimination against deaf people,” he said. “[This is] because many people do not know a lot about the deaf culture.”

Taylor Thanos, first runner up and freshman communication major, described herself in her speech as “Taylor the Sour Patch Kid,” using several perspectives as a Sour Patch Kid candy.

“It really describes things in my past and my positive look on life,” Thanos said.

In third place was business management major Shondell Coleman, talked about his fluctuations in weight and how people treated him because of it throughout his life.

“You shouldn’t treat people based on their physical appearance, you really should look at the inside,” Coleman said.

Coleman said he plans to use the $100 he won toward school.

“I’m not going to waste it,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Taylor Thanos is a Northern Star employee.