May 9, 2020
Excellence in Critical Thinking
Three criteria:
Speech and Debate Events
Informative Speaking
International Extemporaneous Speaking
Original Oratory
United States Extemporaneous Speaking
Congressional Debate
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Policy Debate
Public Forum Debate
Congressional Debate
Liberty Oliver
Vermilion High School
“Liberty Oliver has successfully competed in nearly all of the debate events by successfully utilizing the aforementioned critical thinking criteria. A three time state qualifier in Public Forum, winning several rounds of Lincoln Douglas Debate, a first alternate to nationals in Big Questions debate, winner of multiple Congressional Debate tournaments, and a National Champion in World Schools debate. Her success across multiple debate events shows her ability to consider issues from multiple perspectives, have deep and substantive thoughts about these issues, and her use of credible sources is second to none. Liberty is the finest debater I have ever coached and her critical thinking skills are sensational.”
Informative Speaking
Anastasia Allison
Canton McKinley
High School
“I heard this speaker at a prior tournament and thought the topic was creative in its presentation of how fashion has contributed in the past, and continues to promote today, to societal norming of oppressing women--but at that tournament I wanted to hear even more substance. Today, at States, this competitor stepped up her game. I am not a feminist by any stretch yet she presented perspectives I hadn't considered, such as the morphing of historic fashion trends that are clearly oppressive into modern trends that are more subtle in their oppression, but achieve the same objective. The opening body paragraph which walks the listener through historical intent, sets a vivid stage for leading the audience into the present problem. I especially loved the creative visual that evokes memories of the Fashion Plates set or paper dolls of my childhood.”
International Extemporaneous Speaking
Alex Massa
Hoover High School
“Alex approaches every question he receives by applying analytical skills and diversified knowledge. His knowledge base is extremely high; however, what makes him special is that he does not "rest" on that knowledge. Instead he is always seeking more information to either affirm or negate his beliefs. Alex seeks the truth about issues, instead of relying on convenient beliefs.”
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Tony Liu
Mason High School
“Tony has always been restless with the status quo. He doesn't believe in using easy, stock arguments because he feels that doing so is a disservice to the topic, his judges, and his fellow competitors. He fervently believes that debate should be about presenting as many unique perspectives as possible especially when the topics have so much complexity and nuance. This alone, however, doesn't satisfy him. He looks at different arguments and also continuously pushes himself to find interesting ways to relate those arguments to as many people as possible. For example, for the current topic about nuclear arsenals, Tony has been looking at the resolution in the context of current affairs and applying his knowledge to the very prevalent issue of Iran. His drive to see issues not as abstract, conceptual problems but as having real consequences for people today is the reason that I'm recommending him, and I hope you consider him because of his personal passion and mission that perfectly align with the true spirit of this scholarship.”
Original Oratory
Johnna Blystone
Austintown Fitch
High School
“Johnna Blystone is the hardest-working, most powerful, and most innovative writer I have ever had the privilege of coaching. She is the president of her speech team and is a consistent demonstration of loyalty and leadership on this team.
Johnna has been in original oratory for the past four years. She is a three-time national qualifier, four-time state qualifier, state runner up for the year 2019, and currently ranked fifth in the nation in original. Each year she has taken a spin on an already unique or controversial topic. Her most recent speeches discussing suppressing emotions, the positivity behind making mistakes, and this year the importance of rejecting passivity as a social propriety in situations where unfair treatment is prevalent.
In this bold, yet compassionate and vulnerable oratory she discusses various perspectives of male sexual assault victims, the discrepancy between the assertiveness of men and women in the workplace, and areas of injustice that are often neglected by mainstream media or scientific studies because of controversial social implications of their findings.
As any passionate writer does, Johnna puts her entire being into every word that leaves her pen. She took a huge risk this year by making herself especially vulnerable to criticism when she reflected on her experiences coming out as bisexual.
By incorporating a highly personal anecdote about incidents following her coming out at school she sought not to cultivate a sob story but to utilize her traumatic experience in illuminating the urgency of intolerance. In doing so she knew she made herself vulnerable to similar cruelty as every week she’d be judged by strangers of various walks of life. All of whom were free to criticize this intimate detail of her identity. However, such was her conviction so that the message she wished to spread was one of necessity in the world around her. That every week she takes that risk in the hopes of connecting with all who listen. ”
Policy Debate
Sophi Dal Pra
Wooster High School
“Sophia has amassed an impressive resume in policy debate. She is a four-year state qualifier. At the end of the last season, she finished as a state finalist, losing the final round on a 2-3 decision, and a national qualifier, finishing in the top 45 teams at NSDA nationals. She has placed first at Tusky Valley, the Wadsworth PDQ, and the Hoover PDQ. She was also a finalist at GlenOak, a semifinalist at Perry, and a Quarterfinalist at Wooster. First, Sophia is a balanced debater who can succeed regardless of whether her strategy is traditional, critical, or performative. I require the debaters to pursue a wide variety of strategies so that they can respond dynamically to the team they are debating or the judge they draw. Sophia has flourished in that regard, successfully pursuing counterplan and disadvantage strategies, a wide variety of critical positions, and even a more performative strategy that sought to improve the success of female policy debaters in Ohio. Second, Sophia is also easily one of the hardest working debaters I have coached. As our division captain, Sophia leads our team in tracking assignments. Before she even returned from camp this summer, she had prepared a spreadsheet of negative strategy assignments, as well as a spreadsheet organizing team 2AC block assignments. She continues to update those spreadsheets after every tournament and always keeps up with her assignments. Third, I think that Sophia will be an incredibly successful college debater because she thinks outside the box. Without prompting, Sophia researches ideas for new affirmatives, counterplans, and disadvantages to keep ahead of her competition. For example, last year Sophia began researching a new affirmative that facilitated the immigration of former sex workers to the United States. Sophia vetted the idea with me after conducting initial research and produced a complete 1AC a few weeks later. Sophia and her partner won the national-qualifying round using that affirmative. Finally, I think very highly of Sophia as a person. Sophia is both an excellent teammate to the rest of our team and very receptive to coaching advice. As a coach, I do not sugarcoat my feedback, and I focus on the negatives that debaters need to improve. Sophia has flourished in this environment. She absorbs as much feedback as she can, and she never balks at criticism. She is easily one of the most coachable students with whom I have worked; it is clear to me that she is trying to incorporate every suggestion I have ever provided her. I could not recommend Sophia more for this scholarship. She is a dynamic debater, an incredibly hard worker, and a strategically brilliant competitor. Sophia is a model OSDA competitor.”
Public Forum Debate
Zoe Bailey
Austintown Fitch
High School
“Zoe is a second speaker on an Austintown PF Debate team. She is a four year senior who has always impressed with her wit and wisdom. When a topic comes out, Zoe is always sure to learn the background issues so that she has a deep understanding. This allows her to debate from a place of expertise on both sides of any given topic. She has a strong understanding of scholarly sources and has the critical thinking skills necessary to assess a reliable from unreliable source. She frequently uses this ability in her rebuttals.
Zoe has a profound empathy that allows her to put herself into the perspective of less fortunate people involved in world affairs. She gains this empathy from her own life experience. She's had to overcome many hardships in her young life and has emerged a brilliant and strong young woman. For as excellent a debater as she is, she's an even better person. Zoe is conscientious and ever aware of injustice, no matter where it reveals itself.
In my 5 years of coaching I have never encountered a person with a better combination of empathy, conscientiousness and intelligence as I have seen in Zoe Bailey. She deserves this scholarship more than anyone I know. Given the difficulties she has had to overcome to reach her successful position in school speaks volumes to her abilities and she would represent the scholarship committee with class and grace.”
“Zoe Bailey is a senior Public Forum debater who I've had the pleasure of coaching for the last four years at Austintown Fitch. In her tenure, I've seen this bright young woman transform into an adept debater who is able to analyze a complex topic and pinpoint key arguments on either side. Zoe has a knack for finding unique sources that lend credibility to her argumentation on robust issues. We often tell her that she’s too in the weeds of research, but it’s so refreshing to see a student this passionate about finding the right source for the right argument. She has a unique drive to understand a debate topic in its entirety before diving into the facets of contentions. This helps her during a debate round respond to arguments made by her opponents with not only credible sources and research, but also with well-thought out argumentation that’s rooted in historic precedent and fact.
When new topics come out, Zo is inquisitive and always pushes her teammates and myself as a coach to look further into how we can apply debate resolutions on a one to one basis. On the latest topic concerning Universal Basic Income, Zo wanted to better understand the mental health and educational impacts of that kind of policy on lower income individuals. I was amazed at her findings and her thoughtful commentary on the importance of finances and someone’s general well-being. We had initially only focused our scope on budget concerns and preparing for automation, but Zo turned it into a more human-focused view. In her two-page report on the two items, Zo provided a plethora of studies ranging from the Cato Institute to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities all indicating there was a direct correlation between implementation of a UBI and increased levels of graduation rates amongst lower-income individuals, as well as lowered levels of depression and anxiety within those communities. Her critical thinking analyzed the topic in a way that her teammates and I missed and it’s that level of thinking and researching that I feel Zoe deserves to be awarded with this scholarship.”
“Zoe is an exemplary speaker, debater, and thinker. In a category that so frequently relies on the rote recitation of evidence, Zoe uses critical thought and rhetoric to communicate effectively. Zoe debates for the pursuit of knowledge rather than personal gain. Rarely have I met a debater who is so simultaneously respectful and humble.”
“Among the debaters I have judged, Zoe has unquestionably improved the most over the years. I remember competing against her and thinking that she had an impressive talent for meaningful research, unique argumentation, and in depth analysis; although those talents weren't fully developed at the time, I knew that she would be a force to be reckoned with. Upon judging her at the National Qualifying Tournament, I was proud to see that those talents were in full display. Zoe truly exhibits the qualities of a mature thinker and successful debater.”
“She is very respectful to her opponents, explains thoughts and ideas clearly and cohesively, excellent on the flow.”
United States Extemporaneous
Speaking
Laura Parsons
Kenston High School
“Laura has qualified for States in four different events in four seasons (DRAM, DEC, OO, and US Extemp this season). While trying to decide which event in which to compete this season, she decided upon what I consider the hardest speech event - Extemp. She got the hang of the event after just a few tournaments, and started placing and then qualified for NSDA Nationals at Big Districts. Her qualification to Nationals as well as my personal observation indicates that she does a great job using credible sources while speaking and conducts a sophisticated analysis on each question on which she speaks. Her deep thinking is also demonstrated by her perfect 4.0 unweighted high school GPA and the fact that she is an NSDA Academic All American. Laura is also a National Merit Semifinalist and an AP Scholar with Distinction.”
Congratulations Recipients!!!