Hornung competes at national speech tournament
VALLEY CITY (VCSU) – Valley City State University junior Grady Hornung competed this weekend at the American Forensics Association (AFA) National Speech Tournament in North Carolina. Hornung earned his spot at nationals through placing in competition at multiple events this year.
Hornung qualified in Dramatic Interpretation and competed in three rounds at the 47th AFA National Speech Tournament hosted by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
A native of Walhalla, N.D., Hornung has been an active member of the recently revived VCSU Speech Team. The team included students from multiple academic disciplines on campus. Members competed in nine tournaments across the upper Midwest region, online and nationally.
“Competing in AFA Nationals was an amazing opportunity that I will treasure with me for the rest of my life,” Hornung said. “I have made so many new friends and learned new skills that will help me in my career through forensics. This activity truly gives students a voice and promotes advocacy in ways that I have never gotten to experience prior to competing.”
“Speech and competitive forensics allow students to find, develop and raise their voices in a unique and time-honored way,” said Tammy Jo A. Taft, assistant professor of Communication Arts and VCSU speech team coach. “It was exciting that Grady qualified for this national tournament. Qualifying requires extensive preparation and competitive focus. This was Grady’s first year in college speech, and he excelled.”
Other students competing and participating in VCSU Speech this year include Tara Dahl, Alliana Freund, Kelby Gjovik, Madi Klabo, Eric Leik, Lallie Red Horn, TJ Tegtmeier and Trista Weigelt.
Tournament competition includes 11 different events for individuals or partners. A variety of interpretive events like prose, poetry and drama are included. Other categories include original content created by the competitor. These include impromptu speaking, extemporaneous speaking, after dinner speaking, informative and persuasive speaking.
For more information about VCSU Speech contact coach Tammy Jo Taft at tammyjo.taft@vcsu.edu.
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