Inaugural Peace Talks speech competition brings five Mennonite colleges together

Goshen College hosted its inaugural Peace Talks speech competition on Sept. 15, launching an annual event that encourages students to speak on issues important to them, raise awareness and promote thoughtful, respectful dialogue.

Five students representing five Mennonite colleges gathered at GC’s Umble Center to compete for the first-place cash prize of $1,000.

Mateo Gonzalez, a sophomore engineering mechatronics major at Hesston College (Kansas) from Madrid, Spain, delivered the winning speech, “More Than a Sentence: Exploring Restorative Justice.” Gonzalez said his mother and her master’s degree inspired him to choose his topic.

A winner was selected by a panel of three judges: Dr. Anuj Gurung, the Gladdys E. Muir Assistant Professor of Peace Studies at Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana; Dr. Gariot Louima, chief of staff and vice president for equal opportunity and compliance at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana; and Dr. Amy Lindeman Allen, associate professor of New Testament at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis.

“I was inspired to choose restorative justice because of a documentary my mom made for her master’s degree titled ‘Before It’s Too Late,’ which explores the Los Angeles Police Department’s Juvenile Impact Program,” said Gonzalez after the contest.

Katherine Brown, a senior at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas, won the second-place prize of $800 for her speech, “The Woman on the Corner: Prostitutes are People Too.”

“It was exhilarating,” said Brown. “I received a lot of positive feedback from the audience, with many people telling me that I gave a powerful speech.”

The five contestants covered diverse topics that raised awareness of important issues worldwide, such as smartphone addiction, forced boarding schools for Indigenous people, and the Iran war. Each had 10 minutes to deliver their speech before the judges chose the two winners.

After all speakers presented, everyone was welcome to the Umble Center lobby for refreshments and a chance to talk with the contestants, while the judges decided on the winners. All five contestants received prize money and individualized, written feedback from the judges.

Organizers hope to expand Peace Talks gradually over the next three years.

“Next year, we plan to invite returning institutions as well as other faith-based private colleges in Indiana,” said Anna Groff, Peace Talks contest director and associate professor of communication. “The following year, we hope to open the competition to all Indiana colleges, with the ultimate plan to go nationally.”

The Peace Talks team includes Courtney Dobrzykowski, events manager; Melissa Troyer, More than Just Stories marketing manager; and student assistant Mackenzie Miller, a senior majoring in communications.

Building on the inaugural event, Groff and the organizing committee have already begun planning improvements for next year’s Peace Talks competition.

“All the speakers are deserving of prize money and deserving of positive feedback,” said Groff. She also said she would like to present a trophy to the winners in the future.

2026 Peace Talks contest video

Peace Talks is one of five storytelling projects from More Than Just Stories, the media organization founded by Goshen College. Lilly Endowment Inc. funds the organization and awarded Goshen College a $5 million grant last year.

If you are a faith-based college in the state of Indiana and are interested in applying for the 2027 Peace Talks competition, please visit https://peacetalkscontest.org/contact/ for more information.