Five members of Moanalua High Schools speech team have qualified for the Hawaii Speech League (HSL) State Forensic Championships. 

Sophomores Calista Ancog and Joseph Barrogawon placed first in Duo Interpretation. Seniors Miah Emerson and Parisa Oliai won second place in Duo Interpretation. Sophomore Skylar Parks won second place in Original Oratory. 

“It was not easy practicing virtually, so you have to give every student who entered tournaments credit for putting up with the audio glitches, scheduling problems, and assorted issues we faced,” Moanalua High School speech team adviser Joy Turbeville said.

The team members that qualified at a meet on February 6 that involved other schools.  Students entered one of two categories. Duo Interpretation, in which both participants play one or more roles from a published script. It involves some acting and may be dramatic, humorous or both. The second category is Original Oratory; the participant will write a persuasive essay about a given topic, memorize it, and present it. 

“Parisa and I practiced our program multiple times a week in preparation for our tournaments. We often do group evaluations where our teammates and coach watch us perform and give us feedback. This is the most significant part of putting together a winning performance,” says Miah Emerson, one of the participants that qualified for states.

Only medalists qualified for the HSL State Forensic Championships are allowed to enter the invitational meet to be held on April 17. 

There will be one last qualifying meet held on March 6 which will allow more students to try to qualify for the state meet. The Speech Team is open to students looking to join the team; there will be a virtual open house on April 21.