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Teenager from San Francisco wins 2017 English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition

National News

The three winners of the 2017
English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition
on stage at Lincoln Center in New York City
(l to r) – Third place winner Trevon Wainwright, First place winner Ogechi Egonu, and Second place winner Brandon Burk.

With a performance of a sonnet and monologue from Shakespeare's Othello, Ogechi Egonu from San Francisco, CA, a student of Jennifer Grimes at San Domenico School in San Anselmo, won the 34th annual English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition. The Competition took place on May 1, 2017 on the Mitzi Newhouse Theater stage at Lincoln Center in New York City with 54 semi-finalists from as many ESU Branch competitions nationwide. Ogechi previously won the ESU San Francisco competition.

As the winner of the 34th English-Speaking Union National Shakespeare Competition, Ogechi received a full scholarship to the American Shakespeare Center Theater Camp in Staunton, VA, this summer. Second place winner, Brandon Burk, from the Kentucky Branch, won a cash prize of $1,000 from the English-Speaking Union, while the third place winner, Trevon Wainwright, representing the Kansas City Branch of the ESU, received an award of $500 provided by The Shakespeare Society.

The finalists were:

Chinyelu Mwaafrika - Indianapolis Branch - Shortridge High School
Mya Ison - Research Triangle Branch - Enloe High School
Lee Ann Bael - New York City Branch - Edward R. Murrow High School
Malenky Welsh - Greenwich Branch - ACES Education Center for the Arts
Judy Durkin - Los Angeles Branch - Santa Monica High School
Rutvik Ashtikar - Princeton Branch - JP Stevens High School
Padraig Bond - Albany Branch - Shenendehowa High School

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ARNIC Graduation Ceremony & Founder's Award Honors Dinner

National News

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ESU Branches to Send 40 Teacher-Scholars to the UK for Summer Study

National News

The Teachers Learning Abroad - TLab program has long provided American high school teachers the opportunity to continue their education at prestigious centers of learning in the United Kingdom.  This summer, 20 English-Speaking Union Branches will send 40 teacher-scholars to summer programs at the University of Oxford, Shakespeare's Globe Theater in London, and the University of Edinburgh.

Summer 2017 represents a particularly exciting time for TLab teacher-scholars. Each teacher has selected and applied to a program of their choosing, and their ESU scholarship will cover all or portions of tuition, room and board and, in some cases, travel to the UK. Teacher-scholars will spend between two and three weeks in active study and will return home to begin a new school year invigorated and equipped to share their newly acquired teaching and learning strategies with colleagues and some 4,000 students.

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          Remembering Andrew Romay                         1922 to 2017

National Announcement

The Board and staff of the English-Speaking Union, with sorrow and sincere gratitude, remember the life and work of our beloved benefactor Dr. Andrew Romay, who passed away early this morning, February 10, 2017. 

Andrew Romay's favorite project was the program that is named for him, the English-Speaking Union Andrew Romay New Immigrant Center (ARNIC), and he wanted it to be his legacy for many years to come. Please support ARNIC today to honor Andrew Romay's memory and his wishes, donate here. 

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The ESU Supports Immigrants, Asylum-seekers, and Refugees

National News

For nearly a century, the English-Speaking Union has employed English as a catalyst to foster global understanding and good will through educational opportunities and cultural exchange.  The ESU is an inclusive organization, in the words of our founder Sir Evelyn Wrench,  "founded in no narrow attitude of race pride, in no spirit of hostility to any people."

In today's shrinking world dominated by dollars and digits, unprecedented migration and bloody national borders, the ESU remains committed to improving the lives of new immigrants to the United States.

Since 2013, nearly 1,000 recent immigrants, refugees, and asylum-seekers from 66 different countries have been welcomed as members of the English-Speaking Union Andrew Romay New Immigrant Center. The Center provides a welcoming environment, resources and information to help immigrants improve their English to explore work and study opportunities, network, pursue citizenship, and acquire cultural fluency in order to participate fully in American society.

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