Forensics students from Marmaton Valley High School performed at the national level this past week in Philadelphia. Six MVHS students qualified for the National Catholic Forensics League at a district meet in March.
Julie Tholen, Marmaton forensic coach, and Elysa Buss, assistant coach, were thrilled the performers were able to attend the meet at the University of Pennsylvania. Marmaton Valley has not been to nationals before. Tholen has been impressed with her students’ skills this year.
“The caliber of kids has improved so I wanted to give them that opportunity,” Tholen said.
The six students who attended the meet were, Tapanga Turner, Jocelyn Miller, Kailey Boyd, Kaitlin Ensminger, Payton Wilson and Emily Boyd. Turner, a junior who performed prose and poetry, learned a lot from the competition.
“The competition really made me open up my eyes to how big forensics is,” Turner said.
The students were able to watch other qualifiers at the meet. This allowed them to know what they were up against.Tholen was amazed with how the students treated each other in between performances.
“I was impressed with the camaraderie of the contestants,” Tholen said. “Students complimented each other on their performances.”
When they weren’t performing, the team was able to go sightseeung. Buss said on Friday they were able to visit New York City. Sunday they visited the Eastern State Penitentiary and on Monday they saw the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
“We took the train and the kids really enjoyed that,” Buss said. “It was a great experience for them to see the hustle and bustle of the big city.”
Tholen said it was an incredible learning experience for everyone “not just in forensics but with life experiences as well.”
The team wouldn’t have been able to make it to Philadelphia without fundraiser aid. The students held a lasagna dinner at St. John’s Parish Hall and had dinner and gift basket auctions. Those funds helped sponsor the trip.
“We had phenomenal support from the community and parents,” Tholen said. “We qualified for nationals on March 9 so we had a short amount of time to raise funds.”
The performing experience left an impression on Turner. She said watching other students perform would help her pick out pieces for next year.
Although the students didn’t make it past the first round, both coaches hope to attend nationals again next year.
“It was an amazing opportunity,” Buss said. “It was such a great thing for a small school to do this and meet other schools and students. They were able to show the world who they are.”
The students left May 23 and returned Monday night.
MV forensics experience Philly
