The Columbia Heights High School (CHHS) speech team has made many great achievements and accomplishments over the past few years. From more speakers on the team to more awards and recognition, they’ve made a really great impact on our school. For the first time in history, the team has participated in the Harvard National Speech and Debate Tournament! As it states on their official website, this is one of the largest and most prestigious high-school speech competitions in the United States. Of the 43 speakers on our team, 10 participated: Loulou Sadrant (12), Daphne Kleinschmit (12), Atinan Anwar (12), La’kiah Kimp (12), Ja’Sirah Barber (12), Justin Cajamarca (12), Ava Sinchi (11), Cole Connolly (11), Carlos Bustamante (11) and Hanan Mohamoud (11). Coaches Rachel Mann, Nicholas Hollermann and Lexi Handley, along with Principal Todd Wynne, all chaperoned the five-day trip and three-day tournament.
“I’ve been coaching the team for eight years, and it’s incredible to look back at where we started and appreciate where we are now,” Mann said. “Opportunities like this one will continue to help both individual speakers and our team as a whole grow. Tournaments like this one also give students the chance to experience a new place, make connections with people from around the country and make their voice heard on a national stage. That kind of experience is just really special, and I’d love to share it with our whole team.”
Day 1: The team arrived at the airport at 4:30 a.m. and flew to Boston at 6:00 a.m. After arriving, the team made their way to the hotel to get settled in before sightseeing the city shortly afterwards. They visited historical sites and other attractions in Boston while also grabbing food at a local market.
Day 2: The team made their way to the Harvard campus for a tour to see the different types of buildings they might be in for the tournament, as well as visit the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Afterwards, they attended a presentation with Harvard biologists who made customized cards and gifts for the team! They ended their day practicing their pieces with the coaches and some team bonding the night before competition.
Day 3: First competition day! The team was split up depending on their flights: group one (Drama) left for their first rounds with groups two (Original Oratory/Informative) and three (Humor/Program Oral Interperation) left shortly afterwards. They competed in their three preliminary rounds at different times while visiting Harvard Square during their free time.
Day 4: Second competition day! The team was split once again to perform their last round of prelims before waiting for the results of finals. While, unfortunately, the team didn’t break into finals, they decided to spend the remaining day watching the finalists from their categories. The final rounds were split up into Octa-Finals, Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals. The final round would be held the next day. The day ended with the team splitting up for dinner anywhere at Harvard square and meeting up shortly afterwards for team bonding and reflecting.
Day 5: Third competition day! The team spent their last day spectating the final rounds (with Harlingen High School from Texas taking home the biggest Ws) before doing some more sightseeing around the city like visiting The Freedom Trail and going on a boat before flying back to Minnesota. They discussed what they liked about the trip and what they’re excited to see next in the speech season once they get home.
“The Harvard trip allowed me to interact with some teammates I haven’t necessarily talked to as much this season, and I’m really grateful for that opportunity,” Loulou Sadrant (12) said. “It was really interesting to see some of the different nuances each region brings to the category of Original Oratory and spectating such incredible speakers allowed me to understand how to present my speech in the most effective and interesting way possible.”
While the team didn’t make it to the final rounds, they can all agree that it was an amazing experience and a great opportunity for them to finish off their remaining season strong! If you’re interested in joining speech, talk with coaches Ms. Mann or Mr. Hollermann to learn more about what it is and how you can be a part of this team.
