Harris Levin Best Speech

Harris began with adult peer pressure: where are you working, are you dating, when are you getting married — and the particularly consequential one, are you having kids? Rather than treat the answer as obvious, he turned it into an audit of how much of a major life decision comes from what you actually want versus watching everyone else decide first. Then he crowdsourced it, live, letting the room build the case for and against, his cat Willow entering as a cautionary example of parental responsibility.

It landed because Harris let the question be as awkward as it sounds. Evaluator Luzee Bautista praised his candidness and audience engagement — her only challenge was to trust the room even more: pause longer, let reactions land. The audience, for the record, may still owe him a final answer.

Two-Minute Special — Michelle Wen, "The Lamborghini That Was Stolen"
Michelle went back to 2011, when Guy Fieri's yellow Lamborghini vanished from an SF dealership in a dramatic break-in from the dealership roof. It resurfaced about a year later in a Richmond storage unit — the whole story compressed into two minutes.

The Breadth of Breaking Bread; Supporting Neurodivergent Relationships with Food Part 1 — Amber Dawn
Amber previewed a longer conference presentation on the tangled relationship between food and neurodivergence — biological, neurological, and social factors interacting in ways that make "just eat normally" far less simple than it sounds. Evaluator Michelle Wen praised her calm delivery and clean structure, suggesting a tighter title and a smoother handoff between the room and her notes.

"Protect Your Heart" — Anna Turos, Ice Breaker
Anna's first GGTM speech started with insomnia and numbers she didn't like on her wearable, then became a real education in heart-rate zones, HRV, and recovery. Evaluator Derick Le praised her vulnerability and her gift for making technical material personal — his one ask was to slow down and let the important moments breathe.

Table Topics Master Irene Suwarno handed out fortune-cookie slips; two minutes to decide what fate meant. Juan Basulto drew success for his plans and told a Las Vegas craps story where one of his wisest decisions was never moving there. Sunita Aggarwal, told a friend would need her help, reflected on how satisfying it is to be needed. Miwa was promised somewhere exotic — she already flies to Japan yearly for her parents, so she nominated the Grand Canyon instead. Albert Yan drew a message to call distant loved ones, and used it to share promotion news alongside a possible new long-distance stretch if his girlfriend's move to LA goes through. And Chris, a guest, was told his path would be difficult but rewarding — his answer was public speaking itself, already begun just by standing up.

Also drawing fortunes: Jay, Dennis, Charmaine, Kevin, Francis, Noe Perez, and Tim.

A theme ran through evaluations tonight: good material often just needs more room. General Evaluator Sheila Vida praised how consistently Vedant's theme carried through the whole night, and offered a reminder about the club's small rituals — applause, snapping, handshakes — that they only work if the room keeps giving them energy through the end.

ICE BREAKER
Anna Turos

BEST TABLE TOPICS
Juan Basulto

BEST EVALUATOR
Luzee Bautista

BEST SPEAKER
Harris Levin