Hinckley Institute

Home HIP Talks

HIP Talks is a university-wide speech contest held each spring.

The grand prize winner receives a $5,000 scholarship!
Five runners-up (including an audience favorite) each win $1,000 scholarships!
(that’s six chances to win)

Preliminary Rounds:

April 09, 2pm - 4pm

April 10, 2pm - 4pm

April 11, 12pm-2pm

Held at the Hinckley Institute - Gardner Commons, Room 2018

Speeches can be on any topic, but must not be longer than 2-minutes.

Participation is open to all degree-seeking University of Utah students of all majors and academic levels.

HIP Talks will consist of 3 preliminary rounds and the finale.

Each event will take place in the Hinckley Institute of Politics Caucus Room, Gardner Commons, Rm 2018.

10 participants will be chosen from each preliminary round to compete in the finale.

The finalé will be held on April 16, 2024, from 6 pm-8 pm. 

How To Participate:

Sign up for a preliminary round date and time.

Students may participate in more than one preliminary round, however, to begin, sign up for ONE time slot in a round that works best with your schedule.

If you are not selected to compete in the finale, you are welcome to try again during a future preliminary round if spots are available (Please note: if you choose to compete in round 3, there will be no opportunity to compete again).

If you have questions regarding HIP Talks, please email Alex Macfarlane at alexandra.macfarlane@hinckley.utah.edu

Participation Requirements: 

  •              Must be a degree-seeking student at the U of U.
  •              Speeches cannot exceed 2-minutes.
  •              Speeches must be delivered from memory.
  •              Reading a speech or using note cards is not allowed.

In honor of the oratorical skills of former Utah Congressman Wayne Owens, the Hinckley Institute sponsors a university-wide speech contest in conjunction with the Associated Students of the University of Utah (ASUU). HIP Talks is supported by the Congressman Wayne Owens fund and seeks to foster the public speaking skills of U of U students.

2023 HIP Talks

Thank you to all students that participated in 2023’s HIP Talks. Over 80 students participated in the preliminary rounds and 26 finalists were ultimately selected. The finale was held on April 12, 2023 at the Hinckley Institute of Politics. What an amazing night! 26 incredible speeches were delivered and our judges had the impossible task of selecting the winners.

After a long deliberation, the following winners were chosen:

  • Grand Prize: RJ Walker, BRICK

  • Audience Favorite: Sydney Brooksby, Real Women Have No “X”-cuses

  • Runner-up: Gabriella Grover, Who Am I?

  • Runner-up: Kirsten Martin, The Power of Voice

  • Runner-up: Lucy Jo Leary, Eat Meat and Never Be Wrong

  • Runner-up: Madison Wolf: Are You Seeing the Problem I See?

We appreciate the honesty our students shared about their lived experiences. If you are facing similar struggles or would like a resource for help, please don’t hesitate to visit the student wellness center.

2022 HIP Talks

The Hinckley Institute was thrilled to return to its’ original LIVE format after two years of going virtual. Over 40 majors were represented in the preliminary rounds and the finale was held on April 12, 2022 at the Hinckley Institute (Gardner Commons, room 2018).

30 amazing speeches were delivered during the finale, and the following winners were selected:

  • Grand Prize: Piper Christian, A Global Addiction

  • Audience Favorite: Jacob Martin, Not in My Closet

  • Runner-up: Siena Popiel, Not As Advertised

  • Runner-up: Helen Saylee, Against Gun Violence

  • Runner-up: Corinne Clarkson, Bigger Pockets

  • Runner-up: Kate Lunnen, Straight Again

We appreciate the honesty our students shared about their lived experiences. If you are facing similar struggles or would like a resource for help, please don’t hesitate to visit the student wellness center.

2021 HIP Talks

In keeping with Covid-19 health and safety guidelines, this year’s contest was hosted virtually--the same as it was in 2020. Students were asked to record a two-minute speech on a topic of their choosing and submit the video to the Hinckley Institute. Participants came from all over campus representing over 25 different majors. From the strong pool of submissions, the following winners were selected:

  • Grand Prize: Julianne Liu, Again and again and again - watch here

  • Audience Favorite: Moira Gray, I'm No Longer Ashamed - watch here

  • Runner-up: Loveleen Ghuman, To the Daughters in Immigrant Households - watch here

  • Runner-up: Jack Jowers, A Universal Upgrade - watch here

  • Runner-up: Tessa Vu, Eat, Purge, Repeat - watch here

  • Runner-up: Anoushka Yadav, I Am A Failure And I Am Proud Of It - watch here

We appreciate the honesty our students shared about their lived experiences. If you are facing similar struggles or would like a resource for help, please don’t hesitate to visit the student wellness center.

2020 HIP Talks

This year’s speech contest took a different format in order to adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic safety guidelines. Students were instructed to upload their 2-minute speech submissions online, then they were judged by a panel of former winners, contest partners, and Hinckley Institute staff. Despite the irregular format, over 80 students submitted compelling, thoughtful speeches. From that competitive pool, the following winners were selected:

  • Grand Prize: Noah Hughes, Like Father, Like… - watch here

  • Audience Favorite: Benjamin Merzouk, Reviving EMS - watch here

  • Runner-up: Aly Hill, The Truth Is - watch here

  • Runner-up: Wendy Joseph, The Real Virus - watch here

  • Runner-up: Madelaine Lamah, More Than Their Words - watch here

  • Runner-up: Stephanie Morgan, The Secret Liberal Agenda in Schools - watch here

2019 HIP Talks

Thirty students participated in the final round of the 2019 HIP Talks Competition. The finale was held in the Hinckley Caucus Room on April 8, 2019 with hundreds of people from across campus and the community in attendance. The winning students were as follows:

  • Grand Prize: Rachel Carlson, InstitUtionalized

  • Audience Favorite: Isha Shadale, Islamophobia

  • Runner-up: Avery Druyon, The Global Pandemic

  • Runner-up: Zac Ray, What Will Boys Be?

  • Runner-up: Miranda Stewart, The Shame Game

  • Runner-up: Bryce Wilson, Tricky Question

2018 HIP Talks

Thirty students participated in the final round of the 2018 HIP Talks Competition. The finale was held in the Bill Child Community Hall on April 11, 2018 with hundreds of students, professors and community members in attendance. The winning students were as follows:

  • Grand Prize: Karina Rivera, Don't Cry Little Girl!

  • Audience Favorite: TaCara DeTevis, Why We Thrive

  • Runner-up: Alexis Ahlzadeh, Step One - Admit We Have a Problem

  • Runner-up: BriAnne Crosby, The Things They Told Me

  • Runner-up: Amy O'Neill, Why Some of Us End the Fight

2017 HIP Talks

Thirty students participated in the final round of the 2017 rendition of HIP Talks. The finale was held in the Bill Child Community Hall on April 20, 2017 with hundreds in attendance and over 2,000 watching the live stream. The winning students were as follows:

  • Grand Prize: Ali Darvish, Feeling Pretty

  • Audience Favorite: Mackenzie Gregerson, Never-ending Story

  • Runner-up: Hannah Fox, One Day the Pain Will be Worth It

  • Runner-up: Jenica Jessen, Mountains, Barbarians, and Elmer Fudd

  • Runner-up: Thulasi Seshan, Britain First

  • Runner-up: Ramakrishnan, An Uncherished Gift

2016 HIP Talks

Twenty-eight students participated in the final round of HIP Talks on April 20, 2016, in the Moot Courtroom at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. Speech topics ranged from immigration to sexism, body image to left-handedness, and sexual assault to the experience of those who identify as LGBTQ+ in the LDS community. The winning students were as follows:

  • Grand Prize: Hillary Nikyema, Honey

  • Audience Favorite: Christian Sears, What I Wish They Told Me

  • Runner-up: Alexis Cortez, Hypocrisy

  • Runner-up: Hans Liu, The Banana Effect

  • Runner-up: Kimberly Valencia, Names

  • Runner-up: Dylan Wooton, Seeing Beyond Pink Underwear

2015 HIP Talks

Two minute speeches were delivered on a wide variety of topics.  The top speakers from each preliminary round competed in the celebrity-judged finals. Fox 13's coverage of the final event can be found here. The winning students were as follows:

  • Grand Prize: Emily Glende, Teaching

  • Humorous: Rachael Palmer, Pocket Inequality

  • Compelling: Chaz Allen, The Mercenary Divide

  • Informative: Nora Abu Dan, Got Time

  • Original: Devin Price, Dead Beat Dads

  • Audience Favorite: Sabrina Abdalla, More than Enough