On Saturday April 29, 2023 the Skyline College Forensics Team hosted our first on-campus tournament on behalf of the Northern California Forensics Association (NCFA). Over 150 competitors, coaches and judges from 19 colleges and universities traveled to Skyline College to compete in the final NCFA sponsored tournament of the competitive year. Students had the opportunity to showcase talents in over fifteen different categories of speech and debate events.
Trojans, Illeana Guillen (Journalism Major) and Christian Reyes (Mathematics Major) competed in the events of impromptu and informative speaking. Impromptu speaking is a limited preparation event where competitors are given a set of quotations and have 2 minutes to pick one quotation and then prepare a 5-minute speech. It is one of the more challenging events to compete in. Illeana and Christian broke to the final round in novice impromptu both earning bronze.
Hosting this event would not have been possible, let alone a success, without the work and collaboration of 3 particular individuals: Communication Studies Professor Jessica Hurless, Business Professor Grace Beltran and Forensics Team Captain Anthony Tolosa. I would also like to take the time to recognize Skyline College colleagues who came out to support leading up to and the execution of the event: The Facilities Team, Kennya Ruiz, Annie Trinh, Angelica Mendoza, Cassidy Ryan-White, Dr. Bianca Rowden-Quince, Ricardo Flores, Isaiah Angeles, Elian Fontanilla, Chris Gibson, Vice President of Instruction Dr. Vinicio Lopez, President Joe Morello and Public Safety. Thank-you for your continued support!
If you are interested in joining the speech and debate team, please consider enrolling in COMM 172: Forensics. No previous skills or experience required to join; all are welcome! If you know someone who may be interested in joining the speech and debate team, please help spread the word! If you have any questions about joining the team, contact Director of Forensics, Lindsey Ayotte at ayottel@smccd.edu and (650)738-4276.
Article by Lindsey Ayotte | Photo by Jessica Hurless
