NJSDA names national team to represent NMI

Members of the National Junior Speech and Debate Association team that will represent the CNMI at the national tilt this June pose for a photo with there speech coaches at Mount Carmel School during the award ceremony. (Thomas A. Manglona II)

Eleven students will represent the islands in the National Junior Speech and Debate Association competition after bagging gold medals in the four-day regional competition last week at Mt. Carmel School.

Over 100 students competed to earn the top spots in 11 categories in last week’s tilt. NJSDA named the members of its national team that will represent the islands in the upcoming national contest this summer in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Saipan International School’s Shea Hartig will represent the islands in Lincoln-Douglas Debate; Saipan Community School’s Kate Ishida will be competing in the original oratory category; Deirdre Rosete will compete in dramatic interpretation; Garapan Middle School’s Jody Coloma will represent in the humorous interpretation category; and Grace Christian Academy’s Hyunin “Harry” Noh will represent the islands in extemporaneous speaking.

Esther Park, from Saipan Community School, will compete in the prose category, with GCA’s Esther Kim for storytelling, SCS’ James Park for poetry, Jonathan Wolf, from Dan Dan Middle School, for Declamation, and Kalea Borja, from Mt. Carmel School, for impromptu speaking. Cha Cha Middle School’s Esther Jones and Nina Vladisimo will represent the islands in duo acting.

Students from 14 junior high schools qualified to compete in the regional competition by competing in meets throughout the year with nearly 200 other students.

Student contestants who competed in Chamorro and Carolinian categories who will be sent to the mainland will be announced at a later date.

First-time competitor Shea Hartig said she is very honored and thankful for the opportunity to represent the islands.

“I joined speech and debate not knowing it would lead to me entering debate and eventually winning it,” she said. “ I am very excited and thrilled. I am going to work as hard as I possibly can and get the help I need and fight my hardest.”

Fellow orator Esther Jones said that she joined to follow in her sister’s footsteps and represent the islands nationally.

“I am really excited about this. My sister went last year and I wanted to try it out this year. It was so much fun,” she told Saipan Tribune.

One of the youngest competitors, 6th grader Jonathan Wolf, is a veteran Primary Grades Forensic Conference contestant and explained that speech and debate “helps me with my schooling.” He added, “It makes me more confident to speak in front of people. I was really praying to win. It was so cool when I won.”

NJSDA registrar and board member Mary Angela Wheat noted that this year’s competition was “the smoothest ever” due to the collaboration among the students, coaches, and their schools.

Cha Cha Middle School coach Joylynn Jones recognized that the speech and debate association as a whole is progressing to become even more competitive.

She added, “The students are being a lot more competitive in the ranks of all the kids who go to nationals.”

Jones noted that her students practiced four times a week for the competition.

CNMI Speech and Debate Association board chair Harold Easton lauded the student orators for their fear of not speaking in public.

“We always send good students,” he said.” The skill level has increased. Our kids work very hard and the coaches do a great job and the community support is excellent.”

PGFC for elementary students and National Speech and Debate Association competition for high school students are expected to take place in late March and early April. Gold medalists of the high school tilt will join the NJSDA team in Utah.