Send Mark to Nationals!


Hello! My name is Mark Agard Jr, and I’m a sophomore at Heritage High School. This year, I joined the Speech and Debate team, and have competed with consistent success. In my events of choice, LD and Extemp, I placed in all but one of my meets. Luckily, this success continued at our recent National Qualifiers, and I qualified to compete at the 2017 National Speech and Debate Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama. However, travelling and competing is far too expensive for my family to pay for. Thus, this campaign was born. I would love to take this opportunity and compete, but I’ll need your help to accomplish that. 


 I’ve been ambitious and involved in my academic career throughout my life, but Speech and Debate has been a completely new experience for me. I feel as though I’ve found my ‘thing’ in Speech and Debate. It’s demanding, and challenging, but I'm an ambitious and motivated student. The events available are extremely fun and educational, and to continue to the national level would allow me to make new friends, grow as a person and as a competitor, and represent our school. 


  
The $3000 dollar goal is to pay for everything my coach and I need for the trip. This cost is largely airfare, accommodations and registration fees. Furthermore, if I exceed my goal, I’ll be putting the extra money toward a personal laptop. Extemp is made infinitely easier with the use of computers for filing news articles, but I’ve had to rely on the generosity of my coach for the duration of the season. This tournament necessitates a personal device. Should I exceed even that, then the extra money will be donated to future boosters. This will pave the way for future qualifiers to attend Nationals. 

Click the link below to see me practice in a segment filmed for the weekly video announcements at Heritage.

https://t.co/WJW2M2eKcU  

Any amount helps, and thanks ahead of time for your generosity in donating.