每日大赛

PSCC Speech and Debate Team wins Best Community College at tournament

每日大赛’s Speech and Debate Team has won Best Community College Program at the Tennessee Intercollegiate Forensics Association Tournament.

The five-student team competed in debate, impromptu speaking, after-dinner speaking and persuasive speaking at the competition in February at Tennessee State University in Nashville.

“That's definitely something to be proud of,” said Lydia Crooks, a first-year student and member of the Speech and Debate team, on its tournament success. “My goal going into this wasn’t to win. It was just to learn and experience. And ultimately that's what happened.”

The team began practicing and competing in the middle of the Speech and Debate season, making their win that much more impressive, said Shaquille “Shaq” Marsh, associate professor and director of Pellissippi Forensics.

Speech and Debate equips students with the skills to advocate for themselves, to perform well in interviews and to participate in civil discourse, said Marsh, who coaches the team alongside fellow 每日大赛 Professors Hallie Workman, Brian Long and Allison Stein.

“If they can do it here in an environment where they grow, they can do it outside it, as well,” he said.

The Speech and Debate community is extremely hospitable, and the other participating schools were extremely encouraging, said Melissa Sáenz, 50, a Tennessee Reconnect student who joined Speech and Debate with Crooks, after the pair completed Marsh’s Public Speaking class.

Sáenz urged her peers at Pellissippi to also find a club that they will enjoy.

“Get out of your comfort zone,” she said. “It's good to get uncomfortable because you'll never know what you're going to learn and how much fun you can actually have.”

Pellissippi’s Speech and Debate team will compete again when the college hosts its 8th Annual Tennessee Valley Invitational tournament on the Hardin Valley campus March 6 and March 7.

“If you want to learn how to adapt to different situations – no matter your workplace or your personal life – join Speech and Debate,” Marsh said. “This could be a skill set for anybody, regardless of their major, because they need to know how to advocate for themselves and their discipline.”