The students from the Turlock High School Speech and Debate team aren’t the type of kids you would want to get into a philosophical conversation with. They might school you.
Many psychologist agree that public speaking is at the top of the list when it comes to people’s worst fears, right up there with death.
But Turlock High School senior Jonas Trevethan will talk about pretty much anything in front of scores of people without even breaking a sweat. Last weekend he placed third in the California High School State Speech Association State Speech Tournament, held at Enochs High School, Modesto, in National Extemporaneous.
Trevethan wasn’t alone in succeeding at the State Speech Tournament. Teammate Chad Burgess placed second in Public Forum Debate, Mara Patino placed 11th in Dramatic Interpretation, and Alaya Hubbard took 18th in Original Advocacy.
Overall, THS placed 17th out of 157 schools from across California.
THS Speech and Debate Advisor Michele VanNieuwenhuyzen commented on the tremendous effort this year from her students.
“We have had a lot of success this year due to the level of commitment of our students,” she said. “In order for the students to succeed at this level it takes hours of practice, both in and out of the classroom. We have had students attend special camps over the summer and offer a speech and debate workshop to incoming students to give them a jump start on the competitive season… but it has definitely paid off for us this year!”
2014 THS State Speech Tournament Roster:
Chad Burgess
Olivia Cramer
Liam Frolund
Alaya Hubbard
Mara Patino
Megan Silveira
Jonas Trevethan
Nicholas Vardeh
