Carson High School students Sandro Figueroa, Sadie Share and Sawyer Barnett qualifed for the National Speech and Debate tournament in Salt Lake City in June.
The Carson High School Speech and Debate team is seeking help to raise money to send three students to Nationals in June.
Sophomore Sadie Share, junior Sawyer Barnett and senior Sandro Figueroa earned the right to attend the national speech and debate conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. There they will compete against students from all over the country to improve and test their debate skills.
“(I am excited for the tournament because) I like meeting people who have intellectual depth,” Share said. “With high school there is a big variation of people so it’s hard to find intellectual depth and the people at Nationals are intelligent and it is cool to talk with them.”
Figueroa said another plus to attending the events is getting to see the different debate styles students from schools all over have, and getting to explore new places.
“Nationals is a once in a lifetime opportunity, it is such a unique experience,” Figueroa said.
Both Share and Figueroa have been to the national competition twice, and are excited to be going back.
“Nationals is an entire experience in itself and going to the tournament is a whole another level,” Share said.
“It is so rewarding to put in so much work for your event and feel good about your speech,” she added.
Figueroa qualified for nationals by placing third in senate during a district tournament. Share took third place in Information Speaking, taking first place in every preliminary ballot. Barnett advanced to the final round of Lincoln Douglas Debate on the topic of promoting democracy in the Middle East and qualified to compete at Nationals.
To send the students to Nationals, the club has to raise $4,500. To do so, they are hosting several fundraisers in May for the community to try to raise the money, including:
Bling for Speaks: Saturday, May 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Retail Drive Round Table Pizza. Jean Remer of Empire Elementary will be hosting an event where patrons can browse jewelry samples, ask questions and order jewelry from Premier Designs. Forty percent of the profits will be going to the team.
Debate n’ Sass: Wednesday, May 18, from 6-8 p.m. at the Hot Springs Road Sassafras. There will be a dinner theater hosted by the club, where they will perform their speeches during the dinner. Tickets are $10 for the show but don’t include dinner. Seating is limited, contact coach Patrick Mobley at pmobley@carson.k12.nv.us for tickets and questions. Raffle prizes also will be available.
Paint for Debate: Wednesday, May 25, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the Carson Street Mona Lisa and Wine. Tickets are $40 and include a social class with appetizers. If anyone can’t attend the class on the 25th, tickets can be used for any class through July, just use the ticket number when registering for the class of choice. During the event, raffle prizes will also be available and the drawing will be done at 8 p.m. Prizes from such businesses as Starbucks, San Marcos Grill, Cinemark, Frog’s Leap Winery and Red Hut Cafe. Tickets can be purchased in bulk: 10 for $5; 20 for $10; or 25 for $20 and winners don’t need to be present to win.
If anyone wants to donate but can’t attend the event, the club also has a GoFundMe account at www.gofundme.com/qqz4mmk.
