"Students want to have the skill [of public speaking] but are unaware of how to develop it," Engell said. "The venues at Harvard are not well-known."
Students who participated expressed similar sentiments about why they entered the competition.
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"I came to Harvard with a strong interest in elocution, but there is not much opportunity to perform oral interpretation here," said Niki Villanueva Santo '00, one of the participants in the competition. "The Boylston contest is one of the last vestiges of that tradition at Harvard."
To others, including the first-place winner, public speaking is a living art and a living tradition.
"I offer public deliveries to evoke the spirit of the listeners," Imahiyerobo said.