Photo courtesy of Jill Jackl
After weeks of preparation, junior Riley Shaner won the statewide Joseph S. Rumbaugh Historical Oration Contest for her speech on the American Revolution Mar. 10. The competition boasted a $1,000 prize, which Shaner says is going directly toward her college fund. This prize also came paired with an additional $500 stipend to cover expenses for the follow-up national competition, which will be held in Houston, Texas in June. Shaner is “very nervous, but mostly excited” for the next stage of the contest and hopes to do well. Regarding her win, she said the experience had been “very validating,” and that she was very glad “all her work kind-of paid off.”
Shaner heard about the competition through speech and debate teacher Jill Jackl, who offered the option to participate to her whole class.
“I gave the handout to all of my students, and Riley was the only one who took up the opportunity,” Jackl said. “I’ll add that she was very wise in doing so, for $1,000 and some serious resumé fodder.”
Jackl helped Shaner through the process of researching, writing and rehearsing leading up to the competition. Though Jackl provided as much advice as she could, she emphasized that the speech and presentation were all Shaner’s own.
“Just like sports, people have coaches; I’m her academic coach.” Jackl said. “So, [Shaner] wrote the speech herself, then sent it to me for some guidance and editing.”
Jackl said there was a lot of “recitation and practice” and that the two of them “went through the whole process two or three times.”
Jackl said she is “very proud” to call Shaner her student and is impressed by her work ethic, both inside and outside of class.
“She wants to improve for the sake of her improvement, not for the grade,” Jackl said. “She wants to excel for her own benefit.”
Shaner enjoyed her time in speech and debate, and she advocates for it to all her peers.
“[Speech and Debate] was my favorite class I’ve ever taken at Northwood, because it really helps you gain skills that you never knew that you could have,” Shaner said. “I’d recommend it for anyone.”
Jackl considers speech to be very important as well, and believes her course has a lot to offer any student, fostering skills that remain applicable long after their graduation.
“In this video-digital-social media empire you’re all going to enter, the difference between who is going to succeed and who’s not is gonna be who can speak well publicly,” Jackl said.
Jackl exemplified some well known figures in recent history to support her point.
“Ask Obama; ask George Bush; ask anybody who’s been in a position of power,” Jackl said. “Your ability to speak clearly and be heard is going to be the ultimate difference of who forges the paths in this world. I think [public speaking] should be a required course.”
– By Chase Miller
