Teams three-peat third place finish at state, place third in novice competition
Saginaw Valley State University students talk a good game! Conveying poise and confidence, they demonstrated that preparation pays off.
For the third consecutive year, Saginaw Valley State University students placed third at the Michigan Intercollegiate Speech League State Championship Tournament, which took place on Saturday, March 1, at Eastern Michigan University.
In a typical competitive speech tournament, participants deliver speeches of seven to 10 minutes in 11 events that span three genres: public address, limited preparation and interpretation.
Nimnan Wuyep, a communication and international studies major from Jos, Nigeria, placed second in five of those categories: dramatic interpretation, prose interpretation, impromptu speaking, persuasion and individual sweepstakes. In the persuasion category, he was in a two-way tie for first place, which was broken by judges' preference. He also placed seventh in extemporaneous speaking.
Other SVSU students who placed in the competition are:
• Emily Drzewicki, a communication major from Bay City, placed fifth and was named top novice in persuasion, placed seventh in rhetorical criticism.
• Leilani Lanz, an elementary education major from Tampa, placed sixth in dramatic interpretation.
• Rylee Pickoff, an elementary education major from Macomb, placed sixth in after dinner speaking.
• Cody Power, a criminal justice major from New Baltimore, was named top novice in after dinner speaking.
• McKenzie Shagena, a political science major from Port Huron, was named top novice in extemporaneous speaking.
Wuyep and Drzewicki will represent Michigan in the Interstate Oratory Competition, which will be held Saturday and Sunday, April 26 and 27, at Tennessee State University. This is the first time both Michigan representatives are SVSU students.
On Saturday, Feb. 15., six SVSU students in their first year of collegiate competitive speech earned a third-place finish in the Michigan Intercollegiate Speech League Novice State Championship Tournament. Seven colleges competed at the event, which took place at Northwood University.
The students who represented SVSU in the tournament, which was open only to students in their first year of collegiate competition, are:
• Emily Drzewicki, a communication major from Bay City, placed second in persuasive speaking and second in rhetorical criticism.
• Cody Power, a criminal justice major from New Baltimore, placed first in after dinner speaking.
• Hannah Schalk, an elementary education major from Reese, placed seventh in prose interpretation.
• McKenzie Shagena, an elementary education major from Port Huron, placed second in extemporaneous speaking and third in impromptu speaking.
• Kyle Smith, an English education major from Stevensville, placed sixth in dramatic interpretation.
• Nicole Yapp, an elementary education major from Wixom, placed sixth in informative speaking.
“This group of SVSU students is dedicated, hardworking and committed to the success of the team,” said SVSU lecturer of communication Ryan Rigda, who coaches the team alongside Amy Pierce, associate professor of communication. “Students like these are the reason I dedicate my time to this activity and I am excited to see what the rest of the season brings.”
Other members of SVSU’s competitive speech team are:
• Riley Romer, an international studies and Spanish major from Macomb.
• Xsandrie Guimba, an exercise science major from Metro Manila, Philippines.
• Maia Clynick, a psychology major from Freeland.