In 1925,  Bruno E. Jacobs founded the National Forensic League which is now known as the  National Speech and Debate Association. In 2010, West Hardin joined the association. 

“With my first tournament, I wasn’t as confident and I didn’t have as much fun with it as I do with tournaments now,” Sophomore, Jessica Gutierrez said.

Speech and debate isn’t all fun and games. 

“I knew right from the start it was going to be a lot of work,” Freshman Kade Brackin said. 

Speech and debate students work well with each other, most of the time anyway.

“It definitely gets crazy a lot of times, you end up where there’s going to be weeks or months that you’re just like I hate you, get out of my face and sometimes that’s just how it is, but still their my family and like any family you’re going to fight, but at the end of the day we’re all going to know we love each other,” Freshman Kimberlann Gilley said. 

Students also work with their coaches a lot. 

“Mrs. Peek is great and all of our other coaches are great people,” Junior Christopher Johnson said. 

Each tournament is long, students are there for hours.

“Traveling a lot is quite interesting to me because I get to see schools that I never really knew about or heard of so it can be fun depending on where you go,” Gutierrez said.

In those long hours you also get to meet a lot of people. 

“I’ve met some really nice super smart people that I know I’m gonna have in my future. You just can’t not love debate kids.” Gilley said.  

At the end of the day, all the work the students have done pays off. 

“ When you get to finals you’re automatically going to place one through sixth, the places that I’ve gotten is 2nd a couple of times 4th a couple of times and third and fifth once,” Gilley said.