The halls are crowded with students awaiting for their time to perform what they have been working for weeks. Others are nervously pacing and fidgeting, hoping their performance made it to semi-finals or finals. The resonating voices of articulate people fill the air with their speeches about current events and humorous subjects. The students are suited in professional attire, giving off a serious demeanor and letting those around them know that they care about their performance in their events. This is what a typical Saturday is like for sophomore Trisha Giromini.
Giromini has been part of the speech and Debate team since her freshman year. On Saturdays, one school from the district has a competition or tournament for debate members all around the area. These competitions prepare the members for UIL and NFL (National Forensics League) which are competitions that the finalists advance to area and even state. Giromini has participated in all of the events offered in these competitions. She even made it to finals in her first district tourney.
“In Muleshoe, where the tournament was, I felt really amazing when I advanced,” Giromini said. “The environment was like a whole different world my first time at a tournament, I didn’t know what to expect. It was a big deal when I moved onto finals.
The event that led Giromini to finals was Humorous and Dramatic Interpretation. In this event Giromini memorizes a monologue and makes gestures that emphasize the script.
“My monologue last year was Physic Hotline,” Giromini said. “It was about a woman who gets a job as one of the operators. She realized that her coworkers pretend to be physic but really just make up stuff as they go along. My character tries to be different by being honest.”
Giromini does Impromptu, performing a scene without a script or rehearsal, Prose and Poetry, reciting poetry chosen by the judges, and Extemporaneous, stating an issue and suggesting how to solve them along with Humorous and Dramatic Interpretation.
“I like the acting events because they allow me to open myself up and display my emotions,” Giromini said. “They also introduce me to quotes said by respected thinkers like Aristotle.”
Giromini said she dedicates up to two hours a night studying for events.
“I practice what events need practicing the most,” Giromini said. “It takes a lot of determination and practice to be good.”
Giromini said being in Speech and Debate benefits her social life, teaching her how to befriend those she competes with.
“There’s friendly competition in everything,” Giromini said. “When I’m waiting for my events, sometimes I’ll perform for a fellow speechie and they’ll give me constructive criticism. I text some of them on a regular basis.”
She says it was strange to see how competitors from Randall change when participating in their events.
“In acting events, some of them channel this emotional side that I’ve never seen when they’re at school,” Giromini said. “When they’re in debate events, they act like they know more than they really do.”
Giromini took the Speech and Debate class last year so she could learn about each event in depth and have a chance to work on her performances inside of school. After taking this class for a year, Speech and Debate members no longer have to take the class.
“That class really helped me, but with all the extra assignments in that class and band on top of that, I had no time for anything else,” Giromini said. “Now that I’m no longer in the class anymore, I miss all the friends I had in there.”
This year Trisha is also involved in Domestic and International Extemporaneous, which is debating about events within and outside of the country. She plans to stay on the team for the rest of high school and even in college.
“So far, this class has taught me speaking and listening skills, arguing skills,” Giromini said. “I hope to use these skills in the future. I’m going to stay in the team as long as I can so I can get better. There’s always room for improvement.”
