Kennedy senior advances to national speech tournament

Kennedy High School senior Joy Adanene qualified to compete in program oral interpretation (POI) at the National Speech and Debate Association's (NSDA) National Tournament, which will be held online in June.

Adanene qualified by placing second in POI through the Southern Minnesota District. Since the district tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19, the district used a points method based on season performances to determine the national qualifiers. The top three students in each speech category advanced to the national tournament.  

The category of program oral interpretation features a 10-minute performance of pieces from a combination of prose, poetry, and drama centered on a theme. Adanene's performance, entitled "Patriotic Protest," focuses on African Americans’ struggle to show pride and patriotism in the face of institutionalized discrimination and disparity.

In addition to Adanene, two other Bloomington speech team members placed in the top 12 in their categories. Jefferson senior Willa Countryman placed 8th in original oratory and Jefferson junior Bhavya Sivaram placed 10th in humorous interpretation.