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Independence, MO —
Shelby Fullerton has worked hard in the debate program at Truman High School for the last four years and finally, that hard work has paid off in a big way – a spot in the 2012 National Forensics League’s National Speech and Debate Tournament.
“I am really excited to have made it to this competition,” said the May graduate, who qualified in Lincoln-Douglas debate. “I will be spending my time finding evidence and refining my cases so that I can make the best arguments possible. I need to be as prepared as I can be before leaving for the competition.”
Six students from Truman High School qualified for the national tournament, which is June 10 to 15 in Indianapolis. They are Michael Cohen and Tara Williams, duo interpretation; Deon Cummings, dramatic interpretation; Shelby Fullerton, Lincoln-Douglas debate; Damon Brown, U.S. extemporaneous speaking and Kelsey Shoup, humorous interpretation.
This is the second consecutive year that Cohen and Williams have qualified for nationals, however, not in the same event. Both qualified in humorous interpretation last year, and Cohen placed fourth in the nation in the event. That earned him an automatic qualification to the 2012 competition. However, he decided to forgo that opportunity, going to nationals in duo interpretation instead.
“It was a hard decision to make at first,” he said about not going to nationals in humorous interpretation. “It really came down to which is more fun to do. It is a big risk to go in duo because it is such a hard event. In HI (Humorous interpretation) it is either funny or not. Dramatic is serious or not. But duo can be sad, funny or even about nothing. It is about the story you are telling.”
The piece Coehn and Williams have been preparing is “Jumanji.” It’s about a brother and sister battling creatures that come out of a board game. Williams said it is both fun and silly, which makes it such an interesting piece to prepare.
“I think in order to be a successful duo, you have to be dedicated to always making it better. You have to like your partner enough to be critical when you need to be,” she said. “I am nervous about going to nationals because there are a ton of good duo partners. It really is based on the judge’s preference.”
This is the third year Brown has made the trip to the national tournament, although the first two times were in policy debate. He said as a three-time national qualifier, there is more pressure on him to do better, so he has been busy practicing his speeches and staying up-to-date on current events.
Shelby Fullerton has worked hard in the debate program at Truman High School for the last four years and finally, that hard work has paid off in a big way – a spot in the 2012 National Forensics League’s National Speech and Debate Tournament.
“I am really excited to have made it to this competition,” said the May graduate, who qualified in Lincoln-Douglas debate. “I will be spending my time finding evidence and refining my cases so that I can make the best arguments possible. I need to be as prepared as I can be before leaving for the competition.”
Six students from Truman High School qualified for the national tournament, which is June 10 to 15 in Indianapolis. They are Michael Cohen and Tara Williams, duo interpretation; Deon Cummings, dramatic interpretation; Shelby Fullerton, Lincoln-Douglas debate; Damon Brown, U.S. extemporaneous speaking and Kelsey Shoup, humorous interpretation.
This is the second consecutive year that Cohen and Williams have qualified for nationals, however, not in the same event. Both qualified in humorous interpretation last year, and Cohen placed fourth in the nation in the event. That earned him an automatic qualification to the 2012 competition. However, he decided to forgo that opportunity, going to nationals in duo interpretation instead.
“It was a hard decision to make at first,” he said about not going to nationals in humorous interpretation. “It really came down to which is more fun to do. It is a big risk to go in duo because it is such a hard event. In HI (Humorous interpretation) it is either funny or not. Dramatic is serious or not. But duo can be sad, funny or even about nothing. It is about the story you are telling.”
The piece Coehn and Williams have been preparing is “Jumanji.” It’s about a brother and sister battling creatures that come out of a board game. Williams said it is both fun and silly, which makes it such an interesting piece to prepare.
“I think in order to be a successful duo, you have to be dedicated to always making it better. You have to like your partner enough to be critical when you need to be,” she said. “I am nervous about going to nationals because there are a ton of good duo partners. It really is based on the judge’s preference.”
This is the third year Brown has made the trip to the national tournament, although the first two times were in policy debate. He said as a three-time national qualifier, there is more pressure on him to do better, so he has been busy practicing his speeches and staying up-to-date on current events.
“I am doing a lot of reading and a lot of highlighting to make sure I am as prepared as I can be,” he said. “Nationals will be interesting because our circuit is more competitive in extemporaneous speaking than in policy. I am not sure what my competition will look like. I am just hoping that I don’t crack under the pressure.”
Shoup chose her piece, “How Not to be Popular” after a friend gave her the book. It is about a girl who moves around a lot, which causes her to lose friends. The next time she moves, she decides not to make any friends, but the decision makes her more popular than she ever was before. She said she is working on her introduction as well as character development to prepare for the national tournament.
“I am very nervous because I don’t know what to expect,” she said. “I love my piece because it is funny. I just want to do my best when I am there. I don’t really have many expectations other than that.”
Cummings is another repeat qualifier. He placed 11th in the nation in dramatic interpretation last year and has already placed first at one national competition this year – the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions. His piece is “The Rules of the House,” which is about an old man who takes care of a white family in the 1950s. A May graduate, he plans to attend Western Kentucky University this fall to major in communications.
“It has been a good year. I have been very blessed and am thankful for all of the accomplishments I have had,” he said. “What I like about dramatic interpretation is that you can make the story your own. You are telling a story and people listen and pay attention to you. You get to show the feelings of the characters during the performance. It is an amazing experience.”
