As the fall and winter season begins, Joliet Central High School’s speech team makes an appearance! Run by Joseph Hoyt and Ashley Samsa, students may audition for the school’s speech team. What is speech? Speech involves a presentation by one, two, or a group of students that is judged against a similar type of presentation by others in a round of competition. By being in speech or on a speech team, you can learn how to speak or write persuasively. You can also develop skills that can and will help you later in life whether it be with confidence or diction. About all the stats and wins, Joliet Central’s varsity Speech Team participates in 14 IHSA competitions throughout the fall and winter seasons. The Joliet Steelmen have won several awards along with individual students winning awards of their own. The team has grown in numbers from just a couple of members to up to 50 members.
What’s a significant moment in the Steelmen speech team history? Well, on May 8th, 2019, a previous speech team member, An’Tonai Boykin reached the NFA national finals in California and placed sixth in the Poetry field. Last year, for the 2022-2023 winter-fall season, we had Dramatic Duet Acting with Alex Widlack and Rebecca Hambry who scored a 4, Dramatic Interpretation with Alex Widlack scoring a 4, Original Comedy with Jocelyn Mendoza scoring a 3, and Radio Speaking with Zoey Denson who scored a 1 (all scores are regional).