Awards & Honors
MSU Speech & Debate team wins region

The MSU Speech and Debate team competed in the annual Southern Forensics Championship Tournament. Twenty-nine colleges and universities from nine states participated in this regional championship event, which was held online this year. For Mississippi State University, fourteen students competed in debate and individual speaking events, earning over thirty awards. Their combined efforts resulted in the 1st place Overall Sweeps award, marking the first regional championship for the team.

In Informative Speaking, Eric Humphries placed 3rd, and was the top novice for the event. In Persuasive Speaking, Matteo Mauro placed 4th, Mia Robertson placed 3rd, and Dawn Jackson finished in 1st place. This result qualifies Robertson and Jackson to compete in the prestigious Interstate Oratorical Association Tournament.

In Team IPDA debate, Robertson paired up with Tyler Melvin. After sevem rounds of debate, they topped the field of fifteen in the event. Robertson’s results across three events earned the 1st place Individual Overall Sweeps award.

In the novice debate division, Collin Staten (5th place speaker) and Ryan Jarratt (1st place speaker) finished as octo-finalists, and Anne Elizabeth Harrington (4th place speaker) made it to the semi-final round. In the JV division, Patrick McKenzie finished as an octo-finalist and Baylee Seeman made it to the quarter-final round. In varsity, Nirmal Bhatt finished as an octo-finalist, Tyler Melvin finished as a quarter-finalist, and Mia Robertson made it to the semi-final round. Melvin went undefeated in the preliminary rounds and earned the 2nd place speaker award in his division.

Mia Robertson was selected to represent the students of Mississippi on the tournament’s governing board for the upcoming year. As voted on by the students of the organization, Cheryl Chambers (Director of MSU Speech and Debate) was named the SFC Coach of the Year.