For nearly a decade, a college-readiness nonprofit in Lake Worth Beach has helped low-income, high achieving students gain access to top-tier colleges and universities. Its annual speaking competition gives those students a public voice.
Path to College’s 8th annual EdFest features a 'Best Ed-Talk' competition, where finalists give five-minute TED Talk-style presentations on social issues of their choice, from women’s safety to AI’s impact on jobs.
Lorchely Saint Germain, of Boynton Beach High School, is the 2025 first-place EdTalk winner. Germain’s talk, No One Left Behind: Advancing Equality in All Aspects of Life, emphasized equal access to education. She won first place and earned a $1,000 scholarship.
“Education is one of the main things in life. You need it for a job,” she told WLRN. “You need it for anything, basically, and not having that basic foundation stops you from completely, completely being successful in your life.”
If selected, this year she will focus on immigrant access to education and wealth building, she said.
The five finalists making their speeches are selected from among more than three dozen applicants.
Dr. William Stixrud, a trailblazing neuropsychologist and adolescent development expert who co-authored the book The Self-Driven Child, is the guest keynote speaker this year. He'll discuss what drives motivation in young people, and “how to better help students claim their agency and purpose in the world,” said Christine Sylvain, founder and executive director of Path to College.
"The program helps students build workforce leadership and public speaking skills,” she told WLRN.
“Students are often pushed heavily toward technical fields, many of those careers are indeed growing: AI, quantum computing, cloud architecture, engineering, cybersecurity," she added.
"But the people who rise are often the ones who can communicate clearly, lead teams, simplify complexity, and build trust."
Sylvain’s current and former students agree.
Jose Velasquez placed second at EdFest two years in a row with a talk on youth political awareness and civic duty.
“Contribute to your local elections," Velasquez told WLRN. “It affects you directly because those elections decide exactly what kind of people are in position to help your local community.”
Nearly all of Path to College students are accepted to four-year universities, about 70% attend debt-free, and roughly 60% are admitted to top-tier institutions, Sylvain told WLRN.
“What’s important about those numbers is not prestige for prestige’s sake, it’s what access to those networks, internships, and career pathways means for long-term economic mobility,” she said.
IF YOU GO:
What: 2026 EdFest
When: Thursday, June 4 at 11:30am
Where: West Palm Beach, 1001 Okeechobee Blvd, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
For more information, see here.
