Photo provided by John Nash
By Karolina Granda, Editor in chief
The event
On Oct. 25, Moraine Valley Community College hosted their annual regional speech tournament which was held in Building A. The event gathered student speakers from throughout the state, and even those from Missouri and Wisconsin. Competitors from Northwestern University, DePaul, University of Illinois – Chicago, Webster University, and many other incuding, of course, Moraine Valley Community College, participated.
The event is composed of various categories including communication analysis, improvisation, dramatic interpretation, duo events, extemporaneous, debate, impromptu, informative, persuasion, and poetry. For each event, there were two pre-judging sessions that determined who qualified for finals. Those qualifying for final judging had the opportunity to put their best foot forward in being ranked amongst their fellow finalists. The experience that a speech tournament provides allows for an expansion on public speaking skills and serves as a great learning opportunity. It allows one to meet new people with similar interests, learn about important topics, as well as developing a love for the process of improvement. Just like a team sport, there is always room to expand on performance. It is not enough to simply recite from memory. A competitor must present passion, professionalism, and tone of voice in a way that aligns with the topic. Each move, each word, each expression is enough to set you apart from the rest, or enough to have you blend with the crowd. Authenticity creates greatness.
The preparation
Alongside the team’s preparation for the speaking events themselves came the tournament preparation. As the final days of coaching and reciting crept upon the team, the tournament’s logistics stayed at the front of everyone’s minds. Afterall, it’s one thing to compete at a tournament and it’s another to host one. As the tournament took place on October 25th, the tournament centralized a Halloween theme. Halloween decorations were gathered and utilized to decorate the student and judge’s lounges. There were even Halloween themed posters featuring a spooky font and festive attributes. The posters were a creative way of displaying each category’s finalists. Overall, the coaches and team put in the effort to make their 2025 tournament one that was visually appealing, organized, and memorable. Coach Krista Applequist thanked team captain, Aaron Lopez’s, efforts by saying “He knows how to balance work and fun, he’s a fantastic example competitor but brings the whole community together.”
The results and team insight
The most notable part of a tournament is the opportunity to perform what you have spent so long preparing. Being able to attend a speech tournament is truly an award in itself. As Moraine Valley competitor, Firdavs Dovudov put it, “The tournament was intense, extremely competitive, but at the same time everyone was super supportive.” That being said, there is something special about other people appreciating your hard work as well. And, thanks to the remarkable quality of Moraine’s speech team coaches including Krista Applequist, John Nash, and Damian Samsoniwicz, and team captain, Aaron Lopez, the team’s efforts proved themselves as admirable to judges. That being said, team captain Aaron Lopez took second place in both the open divisions for persuasion and speech to entertain, Kandyce Swain took second in informative speaking, Amin Tekroar took fifth in persuasive speaking open division, Tuana Ozbir progressed to semi-finals in impromptu speaking, Laura Galindo took fist in open speech to entertain, Andrew Banazack took fourth in extemporaneous speaking, Karolina Granda took sixth in improv, and Javier Ramirez took first in persuasive speaking, second in improv, and sixth in speech to entertain, while also notably being named as the tournament’s top speaker. Additionally, the tournament recognized alumni Natalie Jurcik with a special award, highlighting her former championship and dedication as assistant coach. The team is now working even harder to outdo their performances at this tournament as they prepare for the competition hosted at Highland on November 14-15. To conclude what our speakers got out of this tournament, competitor and semi-finalist, Tuana Ozbir said, “The tournament was super fun! The people were so kind and supportive even with all the pressure, and it was apparent how much thought and planning it took to have things go smoothly.”
