BREA : Formerly Silent, She Finds Speech Golden

As a child, Niloofar Nejat-Bina’s most effective way to say something was to say nothing at all.

“When I got mad, I wouldn’t talk for days,” she said, recalling how she would drive her mother nuts by not speaking to anyone.

If it seems an odd trick for any child, it was perhaps even odder for Niloofar, who at 17 has gained national recognition for her scholarship and is the current Orange County high school champion in expository speech.

A senior at Brea-Olinda High School, Niloofar will compete in the state speech championships at Ventura City College in Ventura from April 29 through May 2.

Her address will be on finding happiness and personal fulfillment. That title could just as well fit the life tale of Niloofar and her family, who fled from Iran to America together in 1979.

The family belonged to a small Jewish community in Teheran, Niloofar said. Shortly after the shah of Iran was deposed and an Islamic government took over, Iranian Jews were persecuted, she said.

“Neighbors were turning in neighbors,” she said. Concerned for their safety, the family left, settling together in Garden Grove.

The six-member family lived in a one-bedroom apartment there, Niloofar said. Her father, Fatollah, now 63, and mother, Mahboobeh, 52, worked at various low-paying jobs.

With hard work, things changed. Her father opened a small clothing alteration shop and her mother worked as a seamstress.

In early 1980, they moved to Brea. And the children blossomed. One sister became an engineer, another a dentist. A brother is in medical school. Niloofar herself has been accepted to UCLA and plans to be a lawyer.

“In my eyes, my parents are successful,” Niloofar said. “When we first came, my parents sold everything. But they’ve worked hard. They taught me to work hard. They told me: ‘School is your work, and we’ll do the rest.’ ”

She took her parents’ advice. She is the editor-in-chief of Wildcat, the student newspaper, president of the school chapters of the Girls’ League and the National Honor Society, and member of seven other school organizations.

A consistent honor student, Niloofar has won numerous awards and commendations, including a listing in Who’s Who in American High Schools last year. She was an Associated Press Scholar last year and won high honors in geometry and American history in the state’s Golden State exams.

Public speaking charmed her while in the eighth grade. Her first speech was on Mickey Mouse and how the cartoon character represents the American Dream.

“I guess I fell in love with public speaking after that,” she said.

As a high school sophomore, she won first place for a speech on love. Last year, she finished 16th in the state championships.

This year, she intends to do better--and winning the county title two weeks ago against 16 other contestants has given her confidence.

“My family has pushed me to be the best,” Niloofar said, but she credits her friends from different racial backgrounds for her outlook in life.

“I always felt different. My parents thought I was becoming too American and my friends thought I was too weird,” she said.

“It was hard to get the balance. You don’t quite fit in, but I’m glad I grew up learning about adjusting.”