Mount Seniors Participate in State Speech & Debate Championship

Over this past weekend, Mount Saint Mary Academy attended the NJSDL State Championship for Speech and Debate, a club led by Nicole Doria '18, Italian teacher.

 

Two seniors, Victoria Fekete '24 and Akshaya Karanam '24, qualified for states as they were both finalists (coming in the top 6 in their respective categories) at the Ridge Invitational. There, Victoria won 6th place in both Extemporaneous Speaking and Radio Speaking. Akshaya won 1st place in Extemporaneous Speaking.

 

At the NJSDL State Championship, both Victoria and Akshaya competed in the category of International Extemporaneous Speaking. After many rounds of competition, Akshaya earned 1st place and is currently the State Champion for International Extemporaneous Speaking! In addition to her title, she won the Governor's Award in Arts Education and a scholarship to attend a summer camp at the Institute for Speech and Debate.

 

"Speech and Debate has shaped my high school experience significantly - from being a freshman on the team learning about different categories, and now a senior, who hopes to motivate and coach underclasswomen," said Akshaya. "It has broadened my understanding of our world today, particularly in regard to foreign policy. The state championship tournament was an incredible opportunity to show how hard I've been working this season, while learning more from the amazing competitors in the state. I am very excited for Mount Forensics in the future and can't wait to continue supporting our team!"