Berea Speech and Debate Team Wins Big at State Championships


Speech and DebateThe 2011 Kentucky Forensic Association’s State Championship was held at Gateway Community and Technical College this past weekend on February 18 and 19. The Berea contingent traveled to Florence, Kentucy in full force, and took home first place in both the overall parliamentary debate and several individual events. Berea’s team also won second place in the Grand Champion division among all attending colleges and universities.

In addition, two Berea seniors, Chris and Eric Moore, were presented with the prestigious Harlan Hamm Award for Forensics Excellence. The Berea Speech and Debate Team coach, Dr. Billy Wooten, a Berea communications professor, took home Kentucky Forensic Association’s Coach of the Year award. As if all of this wasn’t enough, Rachelle Mathurin earned the honor to have her speech delivered in the Persuasion event published in an upcoming issue of the Kentucky Forensic Association Student Magazine.

Here are the individual results for Berea students at the State Championships:

Maryam Ahmed – Top Novice in Extemporaneous Speaking
7th Place Novice Debate

Charles Badger – 6th Place Varsity Debate

Vandet Chambers – Finalist in Programmed Oral Interpretation
Finalist in Duo Interpretation

Mira Denton – 6th Place Novice Debate

Jacob Hart – 3rd Place Novice Debate
Finalist in Impromptu Speaking

Felicia Helvey – Finalist in Prose
Finalist (twice) in Duo Interpretation

Josh Hughes – Quarterfinalist Debate

Sean Litteral – Quarterfinalist Debate
Finalist in Impromptu Speaking

Rachelle Mathurin – Top Novice in Programmed Oral Interpretation
Finalist in Programmed Oral Interpretation
Finalist in Persuasion

Beth Nelson – Finalist in Duo Interpretation

Brianna Perry – Top Novice in Prose Interpretation
Finalist in Radio Broadcasting
Finalist in Dramatic Interpretation

Josh Rhoden – 10th Place Novice Debate

Emmanuel Zipson – Top Novice in Dramatic Interpretation
Top Novice in Poetry
Finalist in Poetry

Categories: News, People, Places, Programs and Initiatives
Tags: awards, Berea College Speech and Debate Team, Kentucky Forensic Association, State Championship

Berea College, the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, focuses on learning, labor and service. The College only admits academically promising students with limited financial resources—primarily from Kentucky and Appalachia—but welcomes students from 41 states and 76 countries. Every Berea student receives a Tuition Promise Scholarship, which means no Berea student pays for tuition. Berea is one of nine federally recognized Work Colleges, so students work 10 hours or more weekly to earn money for books, housing and meals. The College’s motto, “God has made of one blood all peoples of the earth,” speaks to its inclusive Christian character.