December 4, 2012
I have a cherished artifact from my son’s early teen years. In fact, for some reason, my wife decided to laminate it. It is a series of post-it notes on which my son had written a fairly cogent argument for why I should consider loosening some restrictions we had put on his behavior. It details recent improvements on his grades and implores us to allow him to attend a certain off-campus event that a number of his ninth grade friends would also be attending. I think that what surprised and pleased us was how well organized and thoughtful the case was. He’s growing up!
I thought of this artifact when learning about the exploits of two MPA ninth graders, Jenny Portis and Ingrid Dai (pictured here with their coaches, MPA faculty members Ms. Murr and Mr. Vergin), who also made compelling arguments this past weekend. In their case, the strength of their arguments got them past the preliminary rounds in the novice debate competitions. They advanced to the quarter-finals on a 2-1 decision, then to the semi-final round on a 2-1 decision, then on to the finals on a 2-1 decision. In the finals, they smoked the competition 3-0 to capture the top prize. Of course, they carry on an MPA tradition of excellent debate and speech performances over the years. MPA is the David of schools that keeps taking down the Goliaths in these events. It’s one of the reasons why MPA seniors in the Constitutional Law class shine so brightly when facing real judges at oral arguments at the courthouse each May. (For more on that, click here.)
Teachers will tell you that their understanding of the material they teach is far deeper after teaching it than before. The same can be said of a debater, whose grasp of an argument is strengthened immeasurably in the combat of debate, when they are challenged to support it in the heat of competition. So when your ninth grader develops a habit of challenging you on a decision you’ve made (and what ninth grader doesn’t?), encourage them to channel their energies in debate.
We asked some of our alumni what their MPA debate experience has meant to them since graduating. Here’s some of what they told us:
“Two weeks ago I found myself assigned to brief a group of eight including three four star admirals, the Secretary of the Navy, and the Secretary of Energy. When it came time for the brief, the Secretary of Energy was still in his car on the phone with the President discussing how to get gas supplies to New York and New Jersey after the hurricane. I gave my prepared brief, with visual aides, to the remainder of the group. When I finished, I was told that the Secretary of Energy would be waiting outside the ceremony, about a five minute walk away, and that I would need to back brief him without visual aides and in half the time. As I walked to the building thinking about the information I needed to present him, another thought crept into my head, ‘Extemporaneous Speaking – meaning to speak with limited preparation,’ Mike Vergin(MPA teacher) always said this would be a skill I would use throughout my life. Here it’s going to pay off again.” – Erik Sand, MPA ’03; Harvard, ’07; Aide to the Commandant Naval District Washington, United States Navy
“More important than how speech and debate have helped me academically is how they have helped me in real life. I’m now out of college and work for a Fortune 500 Company managing a number of top customer portfolios. A major component of my job is giving presentations to customers, and I don’t think it would have been possible for me to get hired or succeed at my job without my speech and debate background. I would never have the confidence in my ability to give a presentation to the CEO of a major company at only 26 without my history in speech and debate. While many of my co-workers dread giving large presentations, it is my favorite part of my job.” – Liz Kraut, MPA ’04; Account Manager, Integrated Solutions Group, C.H. Robinson
“I got my dream job as an analyst in the American intelligence community right out of college. My boss told me that the reason he had hired me was my speech experience – not my outstanding GPA at an Ivy-league institution, nor the fact that I spoke two foreign languages.” – Anonymous
“Public speaking is a large component of success in college; I have had to do at least one oral presentation in almost every class I have had in college, and my professors (and classmates) have always been very impressed by my public speaking abilities. I am not nervous for oral presentations; in fact, I look forward to them, and I do extremely well grades-wise on presentations. I attribute this success entirely to Mounds Park Academy’s speech program.” Emily Colton, MPA ’10; Middlebury College
“I am a professional actor now, currently performing a piece of Dickensian literature adapted for the stage in front 1100 people every night. Did my speech coaches and the experience I gained in speech directly influence my ability to do what I do? Yes!” – Stuart Gates, MPA ’05; University of Minnesota, ’09; Actor
“I still remember (rather, I will never forget) waking up very early
in the morning to step onto an occasionally warm school bus with a bunch of my formally-dressed friends who nervously reviewed debate evidence, memorized speeches, and merrily complained how cold and tired (but excited!) they were for the upcoming tournament.” Soren Larson, MPA ’07; Swarthmore ’11; graduate student in Mathematics at Columbia University
“Speech and debate taught me things I could never learn in a classroom: how to control my voice (its volume, inflection, and pace) during a speech, how to pick out key points in an argument while simultaneously thinking of ways to rebut them, how to incorporate humor effectively into a serious point, when to use emotion and when to use logic.” Eric Baudry, MPA ’10; Yale University
“One of the most important advantages the MPA speech program gave me and what I am extremely thankful for is the edge I had when interviewing while applying for jobs post college graduation. Competitive speech encourages you to sell yourself to your audience, whether emotionally in categories like Drama, Prose, or Poetry or in a comedic sense in Humorous or Duo. This ability translates extremely well to the interview setting, when you have to put your best foot forward and truly sell yourself as necessary addition to a company.” Karen West, Gustavus, MPA ’06
“What debate gave me more so than any other class was the knowledge and opportunity to analyze an issue critically, to develop that argument over an extended period of time (the length of the season), to present that argument to an opponent and judge, and to defend that argument against an opponent.” Adam Pabarcus, MPA ’03, President, MPA Alumni Association; Trustee, MPA Board of Trustees; Attorney, Faegre Baker Daniels
