These debaters... Amanat, Jahaira, Dawn, Lincoln, Victor, Alejandro, and Jonathan.. have qualified for the 2026 National Speech and Debate Championships held in Richmond, Virginia this June!

Here is who is representing Mount Vernon this year:

*Senior Amanat Narwal is our current Team Captain while also being ASB President. Her main event is Original Oratory, a 10 minute persuasive speech written by the student. Amanat’s oratory focuses on finding hope in our world today… a speech that earned her the State Championship for the second time in four years of competing! Amanat will be attending Harvard or Columbia University in the fall to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor specializing in public health policy.

*Seniors Dawn Rosas and Jahaira Romo Perez will be competing in World Schools Debate, the form of debate used at the international level. Topics will include international relations, philosophy, economics and more! Dawn will be attending Nationals for the fourth time and Jahaira will be attending for her second time. Dawn will be attending American University in Washington, DC next year to pursue a career as an immigration lawyer. Jahaira will be attending Vassar College where she plans to study everything she can!

*Freshman Lincoln Close will be competing in Congressional Debate at Nationals In his first year of competition, Lincoln was a semifinalist at State in Extemporaneous Speaking, 6th place in Impromptu Speaking, and 9th place in Congressional Debate!

*Senior Victor Quiroz Palma decided to conquer his fear of public speaking as a senior. In one year, he qualified for State in Dramatic Interpretation, spent time learning debate skills in Congress, and will now be attending Nationals! Next year, he will be attending WWU.

*Next year’s Team Captain Alejandro Flores will be representing our team in Extemp Commentary at Nationals! Alejandro is a kind, compassionate leader for our team that excels in making sure every voice is heard. He specializes in Lincoln Douglas debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, and Impromptu Speaking.

*Freshman Jonathan Kapanji will be competing in Program of Oral Interpretation at Nationals. In this event, students use literature and poetry and non-fiction work to create a dramatic narrative that proves their thesis. Jonathan’s work is titled “Fly, Black Bird, Fly.” He placed 6th at State in his first year of competing!

I am incredibly proud of each of their achievements, but now comes the hard part... fundraising to attend. The students have estimated their costs for this tournament to be at about $13,000 to include airfare, hotel, transportation, etc to get them to Nationals. If you can support them in anyway, please do!

Between now and June I'll continue to post updates about the other fundraisers the students have planned if you'd like to support in other ways! If you have any questions, please reach out. Thank you!

*If more than enough is raised for the students to attend, anything leftover will be donated to the team to cover costs for next season*