By Taylor Conley
“…And now I pronounce you a true and future Knight.” These are words one doesn’t hear often unless they are a member of TPA Speech and Debate Club sitting in a Denny’s watching someone be knighted with a plastic sword. Speech and Debate is an outlet for students to express their beliefs and ideas outside of the classroom. This loving and encouraging community is full of all different kinds of students. Every different type of person involved is united under one front: a passion to make a change.
“I’m so proud of what everybody has done and accomplished,” said the Coach, Dani Delgado. Throughout the past season, TPA Speech and Debate has placed in top six on 63 different occasions and has received 3,487 National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) career points.
Violeta Panayotova, the esteemed president of the club, has qualified for the 2020 NSDA National Tournament in Congressional Debate. She is also the 1st alternate in Informative Speaking and 3rd alternate in Program Oral Interpretation.
In addition to this, Stella Lovelady is 3rd alternate in Congressional Debate and Nishat Ahmed and Elizabeth Hollman are 3rd alternates for Public Forum debate. To celebrate this highly successful season in spite of its sudden and early end, the Speech and Debate virtual banquet was organized. The team gathered on a Zoom call to talk about the season’s achievements, give out awards, and see who won the vote for president. Everyone dressed up in suits and dresses as the theme was State of the Union.
This past year has held one of TPA’s biggest speech and debate teams in recent years. While this year was filled with great team members and success, the team plans to continue expanding for the 2020-21 season.
In addition to a great community, TPA speech & debate has some great traditions. For instance, after each tournament, they drive all the way to Denny’s for dinner and conversations. During this, the team recounts the day’s adventures and fills out the restaurant’s coloring sheets with vivid crayon colors. After every tournament, a ‘Shining Knight’ is chosen, with honorary recognition for their dedication to the team. The team also has a mild obsession over Cheez-Its, which they eat at every tournament.
Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, Margaret Thatcher, Malcolm X, and Stephen Colbert – just to a name a few – all participated in their school’s speech and debate team. For many, speech and debate has been the guiding light to a successful career. In whatever one chooses for the future, speech and debate will benefit them in countless ways.
“I can’t tell you a moment in my life where I haven’t used something I learned from speech and debate,” Said Dani. In one way, it improves one’s speaking skills. Afraid of presenting in front of the class? Speech and debate can help you overcome those fears. It also helps with writing. “When I write papers and reports for college classes, they’re so much easier because I have the understanding of speech writing,” Dani commented.
There’s a striking transition from the format of writing two-dimensionally on paper into saying aloud what one has written. In speech and debate, one has to make their reasoning clear and concise so that others can easily understand what point one is trying to get across. Furthermore, participation in speech and debate can lead to college scholarship opportunities. And finally, speech and debate creates lifelong relationships. Dani added that, “My best friend in the entire world came from speech and debate, and I can’t imagine my life without her.” The TPA speech and debate team has life-long members who have formed close relationships through their time together.
For students thinking of joining speech and debate, it is encouraged that you be open minded. This includes being ready to take on opportunities and try new things. For example, participation in this club has led Dani to helping a candidate for her local government in Gilbert. If you don’t keep trying new things, or events, you will not learn how to branch out and you will miss out on things you may enjoy.