Monterey migrant students shine at the state speech and debate tournament

Twenty-one out of the 29 migrant students from districts throughout Monterey County took honors during the Migrant Education State Speech and Debate Tournament in Sacramento this past May 4 - 5.

Monterey County students competed in high school and middle school English and Spanish debate, and English and Spanish prepared and extemporaneous speech.

Twenty-one students from the county placed in the state tournament and brought home a total of 13 trophies.

• Marlyn Sanchez, El Sausal Middle School, 1^st Place, prepared speech in English; 1^st place extemporaneous speech in English
• Yareli Vargas, Soledad High, 3^rd place, prepared speech in English; 2^nd place, extemporaneous speech in English
• Yvonne Dorantes, Notre Dame High, 1^st place, extemporaneous speech in English
• Luis Alvarez, Alisal Community School, 3^rd place, prepared speech in Spanish; 3^rd place, extemporaneous speech in Spanish.
• Carolina Mundo, Alisal High, 1^st place prepared speech in Spanish; 1^st place, extemporaneous speech in Spanish
• Yesenia Aguilar, Vista Verde Middle School, 1^st place, extemporaneous speech in Spanish

In the debate competition, the winners were:

• Fatima Patino, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Sanchez, Imelda Uribe, and Ruben Uribe of Chualar: third place, middle school debate in English
• Raul Barraza Ochoa, Elisa Bucio, Ulises Dueñas, Anabel Melgoza of North Monterey County Middle School, third place in middle school debate in Spanish
• Ericka Arreola, Esther Hidalgo, Fernando Olivas, Verónica Pérez Pantoja of Soledad High School, 1^st place in high school debate in Spanish.

The state tournament brought together approximately 270 local migrant winners students from 17 different migrant education regions throughout California to compete. Participation in speech and debate tournaments locally and at the state level are demanding endeavors for students, pushing them to move beyond their comfort zones in the area of public speaking, as well as requiring significant additional academic work to prepare for the events.

Congratulations, all! You make Monterey County proud!