Last week, Eloquence Academy hosted a public speaking workshop for 20 middle school students at the Edunomix Institute!

Founded in 2023, Edunomix Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization democratizing financial education. Edunomix’s signature program is their clear, practical, and accessible online financial literacy curriculum, including easy-to-digest articles, step-by-step online courses, and investment simulation games. These resources have attracted over 3,400 subscribers and 9,000 active users. Additionally, Edunomix hosts an annual one-week summer camp; the camp runs from Monday through Friday, with students gathering virtually for five total sessions.

The focus of this year’s camp was entrepreneurship. With registration from 87 students from over 6 states and 11 countries, the camp spiritedly began with keynotes from Alexander Deeb, Chief Executive Officer of ClassHook, and Adam Meskouri, Forbes Next 1000 Finalist. Edunomix then invited Eloquence Academy to deliver a workshop on the intersection of public relations, public speaking, and entrepreneurship. Tournaments Coordinator Alexander Wang kicked off his presentation by reminding students that “public speaking is private speaking!” Alexander then covered how to manage nerves, present with confidence and clarity, and formulate an effective pitch for investors and clients alike. Following the lecture, students were placed into breakout rooms where they ideated a novel product and pitched it in a Shark Tank simulation activity. While Eloquence Academy is a debate organization, we ultimately aim to prepare our students for college readiness, career engagement, and community impact.

Based on responses collected through the post-program survey, the results were energizing. Students were confident and excited by the Shark Tank simulation, and three finalists and one winner were selected. All expressed interest in continuing to refine their public speaking skills. In his closing remarks, Alexander encouraged students to seek out practice everywhere: talking with peers, joining a debate team, watching inspirational speeches and taking notes, rehearsing in front of a mirror, and everything in between.

We are grateful to the Edunomix team and Partnerships Program Coordinators Sahaj Bhandari and Aarav Motivala and are proud of what their students accomplished.

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Eloquence Academy, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and 509(a)(2) public charity dedicated to increasing equitable academic debate opportunities for rural and historically underserved students. The Academy offers debate classes, summer camps, workshops, tournaments, in-school programs, and online resources for 2,200+ students across 35 states and 15 countries. Ultimately, EA aims to prepare youth for college readiness, career engagement, and community impact through the transferable skills gained from debate. Follow EA on Instagram and YouTube at @eloquenceacademy.