Glenbard South’s Speech Team, run by Mrs. Candance Vickers, is an opportunity for students to compete against nearby schools in public speaking events. 

This variety of events includes informative speeches, acting performances, poetry pieces and much more. Depending on the event, competitors write their own speech or choose from a selection of pre-written scripts. 

“A lot of people don’t know what speech is and they don’t understand how fun it is…Each event has something different. There is something for everyone in speech,” explained junior Emma Pekkarinen.

This year Glenbard South’s speech team had many students place in different competitions. 

Most recently the following students competed at IHSA sectionals: Hans Herrera in original comedy, Pekkarinen in original oratory, Angelica Buchanan in humorous interpretation, all after placing 4th in their event at regionals, and Hafsa and Fatima Rasheed in humorous duet acting after placing first at regionals

But speech team is not all about competition. Senior Noah Pocevich described the team as a family. 

“My favorite part of the season was being around all of my teammates because you can really see how hard everyone tries to be the best they can be,” said sophomore Aniyah Nelson, reiterating Pocevich’s stance.

Senior Pooja Parmar added, “We made some of the best memories and had great conversations at our meets. The bus rides to and from the competitions were also tons of fun.”

Furthermore, the team feels that speech has taught them more than they ever could have imagined. “It has mostly taught me to be a more confident speaker,” said Parmar. “I can confidently present a presentation without feeling overwhelmed with nerves.”

Sophomore Abby Anderson furthered this when she said, “Speech has taught me a lot of professional skills as well as getting out of my comfort zone when performing…it has taught me to improvise and to just keep going if anything goes wrong.”

Nelson also believes that speech has helped her grow in her other extracurricular activities. She said, “Speech has taught me so many things about acting and how to make it very personal…learning when to look in their eyes and when to shift in voice is gonna benefit me the most.”

Most recently the following students competed at IHSA sectionals: Hans Herrera in original comedy, Pekkarinen in original oratory, Angelica Buchanan in humorous interpretation, all after placing 4th in their event at regionals, and Hafsa and Fatima Rasheed in humorous duet acting after placing first at regionals.

But speech team is not all about competition. Senior Noah Pocevich described the team as a family. 

“My favorite part of the season was being around all of my teammates because you can really see how hard everyone tries to be the best they can be,” said sophomore Aniyah Nelson, reiterating Pocevich’s stance.

Senior Pooja Parmar added, “We made some of the best memories and had great conversations at our meets. The bus rides to and from the competitions were also tons of fun.”

Furthermore, the team feels that speech has taught them more than they ever could have imagined. “It has mostly taught me to be a more confident speaker,” said Parmar. “I can confidently present a presentation without feeling overwhelmed with nerves.”

Sophomore Abby Anderson furthered this when she said, “Speech has taught me a lot of professional skills as well as getting out of my comfort zone when performing…it has taught me to improvise and to just keep going if anything goes wrong.”

Nelson also believes that speech has helped her grow in her other extracurricular activities. She said, “Speech has taught me so many things about acting and how to make it very personal…learning when to look in their eyes and when to shift in voice is gonna benefit me the most.”

When asked why they joined the speech team, most of the team responded similarly. 

Parmar summed it up well when she said, “Honestly, I joined speech because it looks great on college applications. I stayed in speech because I loved being part of the team.”

However, Pekkarinen had a different view. 

“I definitely saw it as a way to perform while staying with something in my comfort zone,” said Pekkarinen. “I do like public speaking. It was a way to have fun and perform in a safe environment.” 

Some students also gave advice for those considering joining. 

“Joining the team was a little overwhelming at first because there is so much to learn, but I have really grown to love it,” said Anderson. “It’s a really good experience to have when it comes to professional attitude and public speaking.”

Nelson added, “More people should join speech because you get to hang out with amazing people who all have the same goal and you practice becoming comfortable with public speaking.”

Speech team’s season is over for this school year, but if you’re interested in joining, keep an eye out for announcements in August. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to coach Vickers at the email below: [email protected]