Eight Moraine Valley Community College students were among the top performers in an invitational tournament hosted by the Moraine Valley Speech and Debate Team in October.
- Javier Ramirez, of Alsip, took first place in Persuasive Speaking, second place in Improv and sixth place in Speech to Entertain. Ramirez also was named the top speaker at the tournament.
- Laura Galindo, of Burbank, earned first place in Speech to Entertain.
- Kandyce Swain, of Blue Island, took second place in Informative Speaking.
- Team captain Aaron Vinicio Lopez, of Bridgeview, earned second place in the open division of Persuasion and in Speech to Entertain.
- Andrew Banazack, of Bridgeview, placed fourth in Extemporaneous Speaking.
- Amin Tekroar, of Oak Lawn, took fifth place in the open division of Persuasion.
- Karolina Granda, of Palos Hills, earned a sixth-place award in Improv.
- Tuana Ozbir, of Palos Hills, earned a spot in the semi-finals for Impromptu Speaking.
Also participating in the tournament were Aya Mustafa, of Palos Heights, Ale Zepeda-Hernandez, of Summit, and Firdavs Dovudov, of Hickory Hills. “Although these new team members did not advance at this tournament, they are soon to be a real force in competition,” said Krista Appelquist, Communications professor and director/co-coach of Forensics (Speech). She noted that open division is for university students in their third or fourth years of competition; however, if community college freshmen or sophomores score high enough, they can advance into that division.
Dovudov reflected on the experience, which was his first tournament, sharing, “It was extremely competitive, but at the same time, everyone was super supportive.” Ozbir agreed adding, “It was apparent how much thought and planning it takes to have things go smoothly.”
The tournament was organized and overseen by Appelquist, John Nash, Communications professor and co-coach of Forensics, and Damian Samsonowicz, assistant coach and Communications instructor at Wright College. Samsonowicz was a member of the Speech and Debate Team at Moraine Valley while he was a student.
Lopez said, “Not only did Moraine Valley do well, but at the awards ceremony we got everyone—almost 100 people—to do the ‘Cha-Cha Slide.’ This was the start of an amazing year.” Appelquist said that Lopez, team captain, is a fantastic competitor, sharing, “Aaron knows how to balance work and fun and bring the whole community together.”
Appelquist shared that she was very proud of all involved with this competition. “The tournament was a very large and elaborate event. It would have been impossible without John Nash; he was like an air traffic controller running the scheduling and constant changes as they happened. And the students all pitched in to stock the food and decorate the rooms for Halloween,” she said.
Twenty-one colleges from four states participated in the tournament.
Participating Illinois schools included Moraine Valley, Elgin Community College, Harper College, College of Lake County, Southeastern Illinois College, Joliet Junior College, University of Illinois-Chicago, Northwestern University, McHenry County College, DePaul University, Northern Illinois University, College of DuPage, and Morton College.
Representing Missouri were Southwest Baptist University and Webster University, the overall tournament champion. Also participating were Highland Community College from Kansas, and the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.
For news media inquiries, contact Madisson Younglove, Moraine Valley assistant director of Communications, at (708) 974-5281 or younglovem2@morainevalley.edu.
