The Yuba college speech team is riding a wave of success, despite the fact that all of the members on the team began as novice speakers who were taking Professor Suzanne Ruckle’s Public Speaking class for their first time.
“I recruited the team from my Speech 1 class, where they all started out as novice speakers,” said Ruckle. “And now they have evolved into an award-winning team and ‘excellent’ and ‘superior’ speakers, as judged by Northern California Forensic Association.”
Despite having a small speech team, due to budget restraints, the Yuba speech team has consistently placed in the top five colleges in Northern California.
The speech team, which includes Eli Henderson, Jeffrey Johnson, Justin Lowe, Dean Sorenson and Daniel Thomas, participated in three Northern California speech tournaments, which showcased over 20 colleges and universities competing for medals in a variety of speech and drama categories.
The Yuba speech team has shined, finishing the year receiving medals in every event that they competed in, accumulating eleven awards throughout the year.
“Joining the (speech) team was stressful, but stress is involved in joining any team,” said Justin Lowe. “After a while, we got more comfortable and started to have a good time.”
The team definitely had a good time at the San Jose State Speech and Debate Tournament, racking up eight awards, three of which belonged to Lowe. He placed first in informative speaking, second in Oral Interpretation of Literature, and fourth in Impromptu Sales Presentation.
Jeffrey Johnson placed fourth in Prose Interpretation and Persuasive Speaking. Eli Henderson placed fourth in Impromptu Speaking and Impromptu Sales Presentation. Daniel Thomas placed third in Best Student Judge of Novice Competition.
“Being on this speech team has helped facilitate my growth as a public speaker and as an individual,” said Dean Sorenson.
The sparkle from the light, which bounced off the speech team’s trophies and plaques, was overshadowed by Ruckle’s huge, proud smile for her speech team’s accomplishments.
“They have done such a wonderful job. I’m very proud of my team,” said Ruckle.
“This past semester’s speech team was such a great joy, filled with excitement and achievement,” said Jeffrey Johnson. “I plead and beg for other students to join because we need a diversity and intellect of others to continue in a path to excellence.”
Anyone interested in competitive public speaking or dramatic interpretations of literature can contact Suzanne Ruckle, Speech coach, by phone: 741-6941. Or email at: sruckle@yccd.edu
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