September
26, 2007
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY SENIOR WINS NATIONAL
ORATORICAL CONTEST
LINCOLN
UNIVERSITY, PA ~ Rumbidzai Tabvuma’s
long-standing passion for public speaking is paying dividends
for the Lincoln University senior. Tabvuma used her voluble
skills to win the 34th Annual National Persuasive Oratorical
Contest in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Her competitors hailed from California,
Michigan and Kentucky. She
captured the first place prizes of $500 and a certificate. She
said, however, winning the title was worth much more.
“It was an opportunity to say something about a topic
I believe in,” said Tabvuma, a native of Zimbabwe, Africa,
majoring in accounting and French. “You want to
give the audience a message that is thought-provoking, and
that’s what I tried to do.”
Tabvuma chose to speak on the effects
of the irresponsible consumption of alcohol. “I had to prove that drinking
alcohol is causing deterious harm in this country,” she
said, “and to encourage a workable solution for abstinence
to be established.”
Tabvuma recalled that her interest
in public speaking began when she was about 14 years old
in high school. “I
always had a keen interest in public speaking, but nothing
beats practice because practice makes perfect,” she said.
Tabvuma began her winning streak
when she defeated 24 contestants at Lincoln University. Then
she did likewise at the statewide competition in Harrisburg,
where she beat back her state rivals from Ursinius College,
Susquehanna University and Bloomsburg University.
Her confidence never wavered.
“I look at it as a challenge,” she said. “I’ve
come to understand that the most effective tool is the words
that come out of your mouth.”
Tabvuma said she is very pleased
with her educational experience at Lincoln University. She
thanked Dean Judith Thomas of the School of Social Sciences
and Behavioral Studies for being her coach and mentor.
“Rumbi is truly a gifted public speaker,” Dr.
Thomas said. “It is a pleasure to work with her.
Her confidence and ability will carry her to greater heights
in the future.”
Tabvuma also credits Lincoln University for her success.
“My Lincoln University experience has been very rewarding
because I’ve had some professors who took me beyond the
classroom,” she said. “I connected with them, and
they allowed me to network with business professionals.”
That networking, she said, helped
her land a position with Deloitte & Touche, one of the nation’s
leading accounting firms, after graduation in May.
“I’m looking forward to working with Deloitte & Touche,” she
said. “It is one of the best firms in the business.”
Tabvuma could have said that about herself in public speaking
competition.
Founded in 1854, Lincoln
University is a premier, historically Black University that
combines the best elements of a liberal arts and sciences-based
undergraduate core curriculum and selected graduate programs
to meet the needs of those living in a highly technological
and global society. The University is nationally
recognized as a major producer of African Americans with undergraduate
degrees in the physical sciences (biology, chemistry and physics);
computer and informational sciences; biological and life sciences. Lincoln
has an enrollment of 2,423 undergraduate and graduate students.
Lincoln
University of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
1570 Baltimore Pike, P.O. Box 179, Lincoln University, PA 19352 \
(484) 365-8000
