It’s All Up for Debate

Southern Lehigh is home to a wide offering of clubs, and most students are able to find at least one club that hones in on their specific interests or strengths. One of the clubs that attracts many students year after year is the speech and debate team.

The Southern Lehigh team has been guided by Mr. David Long for 21 years. He was drawn to the coaching aspect because of his prior experience as a member on his high school’s team. He encourages students to participate in the club because public speaking is a skill that will be used for a lifetime.

“Public speaking is probably one of, if not the most important, skills any student can learn to do,” Mr. Long said. “Even in your everyday job you will have to speak in front of people. It can be customer service or just asking your boss for a raise. You need to know how to speak confidently and make a good argument.”

Assisting Mr. Long in coaching the team are overall captain Natalie Costa and her co-captain, Erin Howe. Together, they have lead the team of 25 students to successful advancements in many of their regional and non-regional tournaments.

The group practices day in and day out, and they place and perform at highly competitive events.

“The team has award winners at almost every tournament we’ve gone to,” Mr. Long said, “including some of the best tournaments in the country such as Princeton and Harvard.”

This year, at the state level competition, captain Natalie Costa, a member for four years, made it to states and was a semifinalist in her event. Three freshmen were able to make it into states as well.

The speech and debate team looks forward to many more tournaments they have yet to compete in, including the Spartan Invitational here at Southern Lehigh, and nationals, which is being held in Birmingham, Alabama, this coming June. Students in all grade levels will be representing the Southern Lehigh speech and debate team in June, and all the hard work they have been putting will most certainly pay off.

About the Contributor

Ashley Zamichieli, News and Our World Editor

Ashley Zamichieli has been on the Spotlight staff for four years. Starting as a freshman staff reporter, she progressed to features editor in tenth grade, and in during her junior and senior years, she has served as editor of both the news and the our world pages. Ashley participates in many extracurricular activities. She is a member of National Honor Society, Key Club, Student Forum, and Student Council. She is also manager for the boys volleyball team. Playing on the girls volleyball team proved one of the most memorable aspects of her high school career. “Winning districts in 2013 and making it to state semifinals was an experience I’ll never forget,” she said. Ashley even received an honorable mention in AAA District XI in 2014 for volleyball. Outside of school, Ashley likes to spend her free time running, listening to music, going to the beach, traveling, and watching Netflix. Her favorite shows include “Scandal,” “Friday Night Lights,” and “Parks and Recreation.” Ashley’s favorite memory from high school was her experience in Spain in 2015, and wished the group could have stayed longer than 11 days. "If you get the chance to travel, go!” she said. “It was amazing, and I can’t wait to study abroad in college. Our group was so much fun and it’s something I’ll always look back on.” Ashley’s favorite thing about journalism was having the opportunity to write about things that pushed her out of her comfort zone. “I’ll miss staying after school and working really late on the paper right before publication with Dana, Cody, Kylie, and of course Mrs. Spritzer,”she said. She will also miss seeing familiar faces in the halls and the football and basketball games. But she admits that she will not miss getting up at six in the morning, not being able to have coffee in class, and sitting in freezing classrooms. Ashley has learned many lessons over the last four years, and leaves behind a piece of advice for underclassmen: “Hard work pays off, but don’t let the little things get to you-- and just remember that you’ll get to relax senior year!” In the fall, Ashley will attend Lafayette College in Easton. She plans to major in neuroscience on a pre-med track and is undecided about whether she will go to grad school or medical school. She plans to study abroad in places such as Germany, Switzerland, and England, and hopes to adventure through the rest of Europe too.

The Spotlight

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It’s All Up for Debate