Speech and debate off to running start
By Dominick Jayassi |
Not even one month into the school year, two people in debate are qualifying for state, Matthew Mandell and Claire Tolsma.
“It usually takes a long time to qualify, winning really helps boost my confidence, it really shows that I’m getting somewhat better,” Mandell said.
Mandell and Tolsma keep at the top of their game by studying, writing speeches, and competing in regular competitions.
“I just kept up with current events, really. I wrote speeches about moralistic topics and policies that affect the U.S. as a whole,” Tolsma said.
Gabrielle Prigmore and Valeria Najera hold their trophies from Reagan High School.
The debate team competes almost weekly with their last tournament being at Reagan High School, where Mandell got fourth place in Congress and Domestic Extemp, Gabrielle Prigmore and Valeria Najera got first place in Duo Interpretation, Prigmore got first place in POI, and Bianca Flores got fifth in Poetry Interpretation.