The Speech and Debate team has accomplished much during this year since it’s the first year they have been able to be debating in person since the pandemic. Emily Gantz and Carly Gordon went to state in Springfield, Missouri, on April 22-23. Gantz went to state for informative speaking, while Gordon went for debate. Evan Becker and Gordon, co-presidents of the club, are qualifying for Nationals in Louisville, Kentucky from June 12-17.

“Getting to Nationals was a really emotional experience because particularly the St. Louis area is actually really competitive,” Gordon said. “I want to show the broader speech community that I’m going to be meeting for the first time in Louisville, what I can do, what my school can do, what the community can do, to kind of express that through my speech.”

The season is over for all Speech and Debate members, including those who who qualified for state or nationals. Even though many people aren’t participating in these events, others in the club have gained many skills from this club.

“Anybody that participates in [Speech and Debate] is going to come out of it much more confident and much more competent in terms of their critical thinking,” Head Coach, Randy Pierce, said. “The fact that they realize how valuable Speech and Debate is, as far as developing their own self-confidence and their own communication skills, that’s something that I really appreciate.”