Forensics to compete at national tournament
April 25, 2016
While many will be celebrating Memorial Day weekend with friends and family, members of the forensics team will be representing Homestead on a national stage. William Clark, David Giersch, Isabella Scaffidi, and Silma Berrada, juniors, qualified for the National Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament, which will be held May 28-29 in Sacramento, Calif.
Clark and Giersch will compete together in Duo Interpretation, performing a cutting of the play Never Swim Alone by Daniel MacIvor.
Scaffidi qualified in Original Oratory with an original 10-minute persuasive speech on mindfulness. “I attended the national forensics competition my freshman year, so I am feeling relatively prepared with what to expect,” Scaffidi said. “What makes me the most excited about this experience is knowing that I am going to be surrounded by hundreds of talented students; all as passionate as I am about public speaking.”
“It’s the most beautiful thing to see and feel all the energy of the competition. All the judges, students and mentors there have a genuine love for the activity, and that’s something you don’t see at any other competition,” Scaffidi continued. “While public speaking itself doesn’t frighten me, admittedly I am a little nervous about my piece itself and my own individual performance. Other than that, I feel truly privileged to be able to compete amongst the best in the nation and, win or lose, I will be grateful no matter what for the experience.”
Berrada will compete in Dramatic Performance, presenting a solo-acting piece excerpted from the book We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Die With Our Families by Philip Gourevitch. “I’m really excited to stay in California for a weekend because I love traveling and I’m nervous about the meet itself because the competition is tough at nationals,” Berrada said.
They qualified for nationals by placing in the top six for their category in a highly competitive regional tournament held at Arrowhead High School. Only the best speakers and debaters in their respective regions earn a spot at the prestigious tournament, and the event has proven a great success over the years, drawing thousands of students from across the country.
The Homestead forensics team has made an appearance at nationals for the past three years, when the competition was held in cities like Philadelphia, Chicago and Fort Lauderdale.
Mrs. Angelina Cicero, English teacher and forensics coach, looks forward to seeing the results of hard work and time dedicated to the team. “For one primary reason, I continue to pour myself into this activity year after year: I love to see the positive transformation in students. They grow as people through involvement in an activity that requires them to speak confidently, hone their performances to a point of excellence, and build lifelong relationships,” Mrs. Cicero said.
Jennifer and Emily Harley, juniors, also reflected on the season. They made the semifinal round in Duo Interpretation at the Wisconsin Forensics Coaches’ Association State Tournament, which was held April 1-2 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
One thing that stood out from this season for Emily was “tenacity. Even though the team was small and we didn’t get the exact results we wanted, we never gave up.”
Jennifer looks forward to “getting farther in state, and becoming an officer that underclassmen and people who have just joined can look up to.”
