The WPHS Speech and Debate club, created by teacher Courtney Plotts, is a West Plains organization that can help improve and utilize students’ communication skills. She created this club so that West Plains could have yet another club to compete in UIL and TFA. The driven group jumped many obstacles due to the fact most of last year’s participants graduated or moved. The club still managed to double in size, leading them to plenty of victories and important moments for the school.
Plotts decided to explore her options in competitions and did her best to coach and emphasize the strengths within her team. “There are so many competitive events in speech and debate that it is impossible to be an expert in all of them,” said Plotts. “So, I have learned to teach what I’m best at, but I’ve also learned to utilize outside sources to help coach my students in areas I may not be as strong. Area coaches have been abundant sources of information, and it’s awesome that they are all so willing to help me grow my students’ craft.”
Junior Kennedie Farley is the vice president of speech and debate and an interpretive captain. She helps answer questions and helps with anything her time might need for their events. She also competes in debate with her partner, Luke Essick. Her most memorable experience was when she did a debate over an informational piece on blood flow, mainly because of her passion for health care and debate. Her favorite part of speech and debate is traveling with her teammates. She loves her team and how they helped her, even though they are new. Her advice for future speech and debate students is “to do what you love and do what really drives you to be better. At the end of the day have fun with it, even if you don’t do as well as you’d like there’s always ways to improve and it’s easy to improve when you are doing what you love” said Farley.
With the Speech and Debate Club continuing their hard work in their field, successful results are frequently being announced. Stay tuned into PACK Press to hear more about this organization’s accomplishments.
