Blue Ridge Brings Fellow’s Passion to Life: The Public Speaking Workshop
By Jolina Dong
Last Wednesday, the Blue Ridge Center partnered with the UVA Speaking Center to host a special event: a workshop designed to help students gain verbal confidence and overcome public speaking anxiety. Professors Cady Garey and Mary Kate Cary, the faculty advisors to the Speaking Center, shared practical tips from their years of experience. Professor Garey is a UVA alumna and public speaking professor in the Drama Department, and Professor Cary is a politics professor, former presidential speechwriter, and the current assistant vice president of UVA. Students from a range of majors attended our event, eager to strengthen one of the most valuable skills they’ll use at UVA and beyond.
As a Blue Ridge Fellow, I was excited for my two worlds, the Speaking Center and the Blue Ridge Center, to collide for this workshop. Additionally, for me, it was not just about teaching speaking techniques but the next step on a journey that began when I was a child.
I grew up in a non-English speaking family with immigrant parents, where communication with the outside world often felt like an uphill battle. In elementary school, I spent years in ESL programs. I can still remember how frustrating it was to know exactly what I wanted to say, but not have the right words, or the confidence, to say it. That sense of helplessness stayed with me. Even as my English improved, I held onto those memories and promised myself that one day, I would not only find my own voice but also help others find theirs.
When I arrived at UVA, I quickly noticed that many of my peers struggled with the same challenge I once faced. They had brilliant ideas but were not comfortable speaking up. At a school where self-governance and student voices are central, this gap left far too many people out of the conversation. While researching resources, I came across the UVA Speaking Center. Years ago, it was a student-run organization that helped peers improve their public speaking skills, but it had gone dormant after years of inactivity.
That discovery sparked something in me. During my second year, I made it my mission to bring the Speaking Center back to life. I recruited a team of 16 student consultants, brought on Professors Garey and Cary as faculty advisors, and secured a $10,000 Jefferson Trust grant to expand our programming. This once-defunct organization has grown into a thriving resource for UVA students. We now offer free one-on-one coaching sessions for all students and host workshops across Grounds each semester.
This event with the Blue Ridge Center felt like the perfect realization of our mission. Seeing more than 50 students show up, ready to practice, ask questions, and learn how to face their speaking fears, reminded me why this work matters. The professors offered thoughtful, encouraging feedback, and the students left more confident to tackle interviews, networking events, and class discussions than when they arrived.
My favorite part was watching students take that first step toward finding their voices. That’s what I set out to do when I revived the Speaking Center, and I’m incredibly grateful to the Blue Ridge Center for supporting and encouraging me to do it in such a meaningful way.
