Heidelberg’s Speech Team had a strong showing at Bowling Green State University’s “Falcon Classic” speech tournament on November 18. This annual competition with over 200 entries was attended by 17 universities from Kansas to New Hampshire. Leading Heidelberg’s team were varsity members and 'Berg seniors Julia Schaefer and Kelsey Stanfield. Julia brought home a 2nd-place medal in Prose Interpretation and 5th place in Media Broadcasting. Kelsey earned 3rd place in both Media Broadcasting and Rhetorical Criticism. Also contributing to Heidelberg’s medal count was novice speaker and 'Berg junior Taylor Ratliff, who earned 5th place in Persuasive Speaking at her first-ever collegiate competition.
Rounding out Heidelberg’s efforts were senior Ellis Herner, who competed in Informative Speaking and first-year student,Belle Lawrence who competed in Dramatic Interpretation; both Ellis and Belle are novice speakers on the team. Former high school debater and first-year student Shannon Petrulis accompanied the team to experience competing in individual events and debate at the collegiate level.
Heidelberg Director of Forensics Dan Higgins was extremely pleased with the team’s showing at BGSU. “Our team has worked incredibly hard since the start of school, and they were ready to perform. We received some excellent feedback from the panels of judges which will really help to improve our events as we move forward. Please be sure to pass on your congratulations when you see these incredible students around campus!”
Heidelberg’s Speech Team remains open to students of all majors and any academic year. Anyone interested in learning more about this award-winning program should contact Coach Higgins by email at dhiggins [at] heidelberg.edu or stop by the Speech Team room in Founders Hall room 111.