Philippe Jones Named Winner of the 2023 W.T. Bondurant Jr. Oratorical Contest

Published February 16, 2023

San Antonio Academy is proud to announce 7th grader Philippe Jones, as this year's W.T. Bondurant Jr. Oratorical Contest winner, with his essay entitled, "Work hard, stick to your values, and trust God." Named for W. T. Bondurant Jr., president of SAA from 1960-1985, the Oratorical Contest is held annually to give Middle School students the opportunity to further develop public speaking skills, an important aspect of the SAA curriculum. Six Academy students from grades 6-8 (two boys from each grade) present their personal essays in front of an alumni audience who volunteer to judge the contest.

In his essay, a nod to the Tex Hill quote posted on the side of SAA's Taylor Hall, Philippe focused on the meaning of the word "perseverance" and what it looks like in everyday life. He used the personal stories of two people who have significantly inspired him due their successes despite opposition and setbacks.

The first story he shared was of his mother who grew up in Colombia. Since 1964, Colombia has faced an internal armed conflict, and many civilians are affected by the conflict-related violence. Philippe described the dangers his mother faced as a Colombian medical doctor and how she decided to leave her country to seek a safer environment for herself and her family. She spent countless hours learning English and studying for her board exams to practice medicine in the U.S., all while working as a clinical researcher. After passing the U.S. Medical Licensing Exams and completing an internship and residency at UT Health, she was able to pick up where she left off in her home country, and re-entered private practice in Ophthalmology in 2011. 

"Her story inspires me each and every day to work hard in school so that I may one day use my skills to help others," said Philippe.

He then went on to share the story of a professional athlete in his favorite sport, tennis. Philippe spoke of Francis Tiafoe, a child of African immigrants, and how he rose to success from living in a small shack at a tennis center to being one of the top tennis players in the world. All of this is because of his perseverance to overcome adversity and continue to work hard and put in the hours to become great at the sport he grew up loving.

"Adversity will always present itself in everything we do in life," said Philippe as he closed his speech. "It is how we persevere through it that shapes our character and future success... Maybe if I work just a little bit harder, stick a little bit closer to my values, and put every single ounce of faith in my body in God, then with a little luck, the final outcome can be surprising." 

Congratulations, Philippe, and well done to all of our 2023 Oratorical Contest participants: Holden D. (6th grade), Caleb O. (8th grade), Robert C. (7th grade), Philippe J. (7th grade), William B. (6th grade), and Clinton P. (8th grade).

Also, a huge thank you to our eight Academy alumni who volunteered their time to judge the contest and provide encouragement in becoming effective orators.