Congratulations to the Lincoln East High School Speech Team

East Lincoln High School

Congratulations to the Lincoln East High School speech team for their outstanding performance at The National Speech and Debate Tournament. Once at the tournament, they qualified for the elimination rounds of various events. One of the Lincoln East students, Victoria Thomas, qualified to speak during the final round in Poetry, and placed second in the nation for Poetry Interpretation. Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the organizers wisely decided to conduct the contest online.

Simply qualifying to participate in this tournament is a tremendous honor, roughly equivalent to getting an invitation to the NCAA basketball tournament. Only the very best high school speech students participate.

By developing their communication skills at such an early age, these fine young people are preparing themselves for success in life. Experience speaking in public, especially at such a high level of excellence, will stand them well as they go through life. The students learn to express themselves orally, to speak with confidence, and to convey their ideas and emotions clearly and persuasively. Speech skills never go out of style. 

Earlier Post: Greybull High School's Speech Team

Extracurricular activities are not really extras. Indeed, I learned more than I can explain from my many excellent teachers in high school and college. Few of them, however, made as much impression on me as my participation in my high school and college debate teams, high school literary magazine, and college newspaper, The Flat Hat. My own coaches and faculty advisors from many years ago, especially Barbara Sue Carter, Pat Micken, Richard Poinsett, and Donald McConkey, taught both by instruction and example. 

It’s particularly impressive that the East Lincoln students continued in their extracurricular activities when everything is so difficult. Special congratulations are also due to their coaches, English teachers Nick Herink and Elle Barts. Leading their students to such a high level of excellence during a health crisis represents a remarkable effort on their part, for which, I imagine, the school probably offered them little compensation.

Also, special thanks to their local newspaper, the Lincoln Journal-Star, which covered the speech team with the enthusiasm usually reserved for athletics. 

Image: Jared Winkler, Creative Commons License