After a year of hard work to qualify, ETSU Speech and Debate students will head to the AFA National Speech Tournament. The competition will take place on April 5-8 at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire.  

To make it to the national stage, students had to be invited by placing high in qualifying tournaments. On Jan. 27, senior Kristina Taylor and sophomore Ipinoluwa Akintola qualified at the District 6 Spring Qualifying Tournament at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. Taylor earned a second place medal in ‘Programmed Oral Interpretation’ and a fourth place medal in ‘Impromptu Speaking’ category. Akintola received a first place medal in Impromptu Speaking and a 2nd place medal in Persuasive Speaking. Akintola was also nominated to be the student representative for District 6.  

Kristina Taylor (left) and Ipinoluwa Akintola (right) stand with their medals. (Contributed/ETSU Speech & Debate)

Taylor described the competition as the most fun competition she had ever been to. She said there was a real sense of community and comradery. “It was a healthy competition space,” said Akintola. “Everyone was cheering everyone on.” 

Akintola shared that one of her favorite parts about competing is connecting with new and familiar people. “Getting to see the people you met place higher and better makes you feel happy,” said Akintola. “We’ve worked towards this and practiced for months on end.” 

Taylor looks forward to the competition aspects of tournaments the most. “I love performing and I love giving my speeches,” said Taylor.  

Last weekend, Taylor and Akintola along with other Speech and Debate students attended the Sixth Annual Tennessee Valley Invitational at Pellissippi State Community College. More students earned invitations to the national tournament. 

Akintola and Taylor jokingly shared that they “manifested” qualifying for nationals. “All the way back in September, we looked at each other and we said, ‘I’ll see you in Wisconsin,’” said Taylor.  

The national competition will require extensive practice and preparation. Around 100-130 people will be competing in each category, while regular tournaments usually have 10-15. Akintola shared that the focus until then will be refining technique, “the best thing we can do is try to see any way we could make the whole execution better,” said Akintola.  

Akintola and Taylor are ecstatic over the opportunity to compete at the national level. “I’m just so excited I qualified,” said Taylor. “I’ve been doing this for seven years now, I’ve never qualified for something this big.”  

Akintola is looking forward to stepping into her role as the student representative for District 6. “I’m excited to bring forth the problems our district has towards the national table and see how they can be made better,” said Akintola. 

Outside of competitions, being a part of Speech and Debate has given Akintola and Taylor invaluable skills that set them apart in their academic and professional endeavors. “Various technologies have the basic skills,” said Akintola. “What differentiates you from technologies is how you’re able to implement skills and actualize them.” 

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