Walking up in front of the judge as their gaze falls upon her, waiting for her performance. Butterflies in her stomach as she tries to deliver her speech despite the intense anxiety she feels. This feeling, however, does not deter senior Savannah Ali, a member of the Speech and Debate Club, a club that prides itself on the voices of its members, who received a score of three out of five in just her first competition towards the beginning of this year. 

“I thought I would place lower since it was my first time, but a lot of the judges were impressed,” Ali said.

Speech and Debate can be taken by anyone, no matter how confident someone is in their speaking ability. In fact, according to junior Auriel Arendt-Fambrough, the process of learning is much simpler than one might think. 

“Everyone is so supportive,” Arendt-Fambrough said.”If you join and you know nothing about it, we can help you get there very fast.” 

The class of Speech and Debate is divided into two different categories: speech the first semester, and debate the second. However, Speech and Debate teacher Mrs. Sheri Baize mentioned that taking both is not actually needed. 

“You take them separately,” Mrs. Baize said. “So if you take speech, that doesn’t mean you have to take debate, they are two completely different things.” 

Everyone has their own style of doing things, and students aren’t forced to perform at competitions if they don’t feel comfortable doing so. The club itself is highly inclusive of others and seeks to help everyone express their voice without the fear of being looked down upon, even when all eyes are on them to speak. 

“It is a fun experience,” Ali said. “You can join the club just to spectate and watch someone speak.”