North Hills High School senior Michelle Do and junior
Nickolas Bartel finished in the Top 3 out of more than 500 students
representing 100 schools at the Pennsylvania High School Speech League State
Tournament in March.Michelle claimed second-place in the Poetry Interpretation
event, and Nickolas placed third in Congressional Debate event. These honors
represent the first time a North Hills student has competed in the final round
at a speech and debate state championship event in more than a decade.
Both students advanced to the state championship with top
finishes at the district event. At the district event, Michelle won first place
and was named district champion in the Poetry Interpretation event, and
Nickolas won third place in the Congressional Debate event.
The Speech and Debate Club was reformed last school year at
the high school. The club seeks to develop students’ skills in conducting
effective research as they learn to craft logical, fluid and well-constructed
arguments, expand their knowledge of topics not commonly discussed in
their everyday lives and encourage critical analysis of topics in our world.
The club is overseen by secondary teacher and sponsor Dawn
Zahorchak and assistant coach Patrick Dickey.