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AHS Student Shares Speech & Debate Nationals Experience

AHS Student Shares Speech & Debate Nationals Experience

Avon High School student and Speech & Debate Team member Salem Araya wrote an article for the Hendricks County Republican newspaper about the team's experience at the national competition this summer. She has given us permission to share her article here.

Avon Speech & Debate Team Competes at National Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa

The week of June 17, 11 Avon Speech and Debate students left Indiana to compete in the National Speech and Debate Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa.

Competition started on the following Monday across 5 different schools, and 24 events. This years national tournament boasted the largest attendance to date, and brought over 7,000 competitors to the city of Des Moines.

The Speech and Debate organization prides itself on having a diverse platform that helps students use their voice to empower not only them selves, but also those who see their performance. This diversity is well reflected in Avon’s national qualifying team.

From Kate Lynam’s Humorous Interpretation piece titled “Regina Flector Wins the Science Fair,” to the Original Oratory performed by Nancy Orogun that challenges the desensitization people face from the constant consumption of media, it is apparent that the competitors had no problem tackling real world issues, or portraying the world of silly middle schoolers.

In “Regina Flector Wins the Science Fair” Lynam portrays the story of 4 students presenting their research at a science fair in a hilarious way, but she also gives the piece the opportunity to show deeper themes. 

”I’d say my piece utilizes humor and the stereotypical world of middle school science fairs in order to explore the importance of empathy, authentic, and the process of finding one’s voice,” said Lynam.

In the speech titled “Not So Breaking News” by Nancy Orogun, however, challenged something that she noticed in her own life. 

“I was watching the news one day and I saw something devastating, then 10 minutes later, I was on my phone and kind of forgot what I had just seen. When I realized this, I just felt horrible that I could just move on from that suffering. It isn’t just a news story to some, it’s their lives,” said Orogun. 

Through this experience, Orogun wrote a speech that would address this issue, and encourage her audience to be more present in this ongoing issue.

“I’m trying to bring awareness to the uncomfortable truth that most people have become desensitized to negative media, and are able to tune it out with relative ease,” said Orogun. “Because we are desensitized, we become less aware of the media, and therefore not as productive in enacting change or providing help to those who need it.”

By the end of competition, four Avon students broke into the semi-finals of their event. These competitors were Olivia Gibson (Congressional Debate), Liam Hoffman (World School Debate), Jack Lloyd (World School Debate), and Will Clinton (World School Debate).

Senior Liam Hoffman placed 8th out of 1000 speakers in his event, and received recognition for it during the World Schools Award Ceremony.

Overall, the students had a very successful week at Nationals, which is no doubt a reflection of the hard work and dedication they had put in weeks leading up to the tournament.

To keep up with the team, The Avon Speech and Debate Team can be followed on X (@ahsspeechteam), or Instagram (@avonspeechanddebate) for more information on future events, and their upcoming season.

 

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