The Sherman Prize Speaking Contest

The 122nd Annual Sherman Prize Speaking Contest was held on February 12, 2026, in a packed Gund Auditorium. Preparation for the contest begins soon after winter break, when all members of the junior class prepare a speech, delivering it first in their English classrooms for comments and reflection by their teacher and classmates. 

Students may then choose to enter the contest, and this year, over 75% of the class did so. These participants present to a panel of faculty judges who then select the six finalists to deliver their speeches in one of the highlights of the year's assemblies. 

Russ Nobles ’27 was named the winner of the 122nd Annual Sherman Prize Speaking Contest for his work, "Afraid to Follow Dreams.” So much more than a speech—his words captured the audience from his first rhyming and rhythmically delivered lines—Russ was rapping. With no music beyond the timing and beats of his words, Russ shared the story of overcoming his fear of telling anyone about his dreams of becoming a rapper. His fear subsided the day he told his friend and fellow contest finalist, JJ Mason, who encouraged him to stop hiding this true part of himself. 

Congratulations and thank you to all who participated, and to each finalist for taking the stage to educate, entertain, and inspire their US community while sharing a personal part of themselves.  

 
First Place
Russ Nobles '27   
Afraid to Follow Dreams

Second Place
Grant Woolley '27
In Between

Third Place
Michael Zhang '27
Work in Progress

 

Hamza Casey '27 
How a Place Becomes a Headline and Then Forgotten

Kyle Hess '27 
On Your Mark, Get Set, Go

JJ Mason '27 
Love Yourz
 
At the assembly, students, faculty, and staff were joined by speakers’ family members and three judges—the people with the unenviable job of choosing the speaking contest winners. The six juniors’ speeches were judged based on originality, clarity, organization, and quality of delivery. Thank you to this year’s judges:

Don Graves '88
Founder and Managing Partner, Highland Creek Advisors, LLC
Former Deputy Secretary of Commerce

Greg Malkin
Founder, Technical Software, Imaginit Technologies, and the Young Entrepreneur Institute
Retired Teacher, University School (2005 -2021) 

Dan Moulthrop
CEO 
The City Club of Cleveland
 
With gratitude, we also recognize the faculty members who happily devoted many hours to the contest's administration, helping students in their creative and rehearsal processes, listening to 70+ speeches, and selecting the finalists. Thank you to Sherman Prize Speaking Advisor and organizer Mr. Jack Somers, and those who worked with the students and judged preliminary rounds: Ms. Patricia Budd, Mr. Alan Cate, Mr. James Lewis '00, Mr. Jim Garrett, Mr. Kevin O'Brien, Dr. Lee Fallon, Mr. Will Sanborn '07, Mr. Devon Steve '13, Mr. Thomas Wickboldt, and Mrs. Ashley Worthington.

About the Sherman Prize Speaking Contest's Namesake
 
Mrs. Henry Sherman, née Harriette Amelia Benedict, established The Sherman Prize Speaking Contest in 1904 in memory of her son, George Benedict Sherman, Class of 1903. George Sherman died during his freshman year at Yale in a rock-climbing accident.
 
George Sherman's maternal grandfather, George A. Benedict, was for many years the managing editor of one of the earliest Cleveland newspapers, the Cleveland Herald. George Sherman has another notable ancestor. His great uncle is General William Tecumseh Sherman, of the Union Army in the Civil War.