Northern State University Speech and Debate

04/01/2026

On top of the PKD updates, today is Northern’s annual GiveNDay! To keep the momentum going that you all helped started if you would be inclined to support the team below is the link. Funds collected today are solely used for student travel (primarily to the national tournament).

Join me and make a gift to NSU's GiveNDay!

04/01/2026

The Northern State Speech and Debate team is headed home from Springfield, MO after competing at the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament this past week.

The Northern State team took 7 students with 13 total entries to the tournament and retuned with the following awards:

Abiah George received excellence awards (top 20%) in extemporaneous speaking and student scholarship and a superior (top 10%) award in interviewing. She was also the 10th place speaker in Open IPDA debate and received an excellence award in IPDA.

Haylee Bohnet received an excellence award in Dramatic Interpretation.

Hannah Smith and Liv Ashley were national runners up in Junior Varsity Public Forum debate. Hannah was also the top JV Public Forum debate speaker while Liv was the 8th place Open Public Forum debate speaker.

Elana Bishop and Lauren Carpenter were national runners up in Novice Public Forum debate.

Jericho Jones was a quarterfinalist in Novice IPDA debate.

In addition to these, Haylee (Dramatic) and Abiah (Extemporaneous) were chosen to perform in the PKD Showcase events highlighting some of the best performances of the tournament.

Overall, there were just over 1900 total entries from 438 students representing 59 schools competing at PKD this year.

I am extremely proud of all the work the students have done and the success they achieved!! Every single student not only competed to a high standard but also dedicated themselves to supporting each other throughout the entire tournament.

The team was led at the tournament by Dr. Kelsie Roberts as I was unable to travel. I could not be happier with Dr. Roberts leadership and representation of the NSU Speech and Debate team. She is truly a remarkable asset to our campus community.

04/03/2025

Help us help you 🙂

We are only 5 donors away from unlocking our match!!!

https://givingday.northern.edu/campaigns/debate

04/03/2025

https://givingday.northern.edu/campaigns/debate

We have a great match this year that can really help out too!

04/02/2025

Today is the day everyone can help make a difference for NSU Speech and Debate! All donations will be used to fund student travel to tournaments.

https://givingday.northern.edu/campaigns/debate

03/18/2025

The team finished up the PKD National Tournament last week! It was a return to Athens, OH and Ohio University! For those of you who were at the last PKD I am sure you remember the tournament as an entire full day of completion was canceled and reschedule due to a blizzard that shut down the whole city. This year was MUCH warmer and the team really showed up!!

We finished with the following results:

5th Place Overall Debate Team in Teir 3
10th Place Overall Speech Team in Teir 3
8th Place Overall Combined Speech and Debate in Teir 3

Abiah George was the Top Speaker in JV IPDA debate and a quarter finalist in extemp, editorial impromptu, and JV IPDA.

Haylee Bohnet, Hannah Smith, Liv Ashley, and Kaitlyn Maas all scored valuable points in their events that helped us secure our highest awards at PKD in recent years.

06/05/2024

Our team gets amazing opportunities to compete at the highest level such as the National Tournament. Read about one of our team's accomplishments down below!! (via. The Aberdeen Insider)

The Northern State University speech and debate team made it to the national quarterfinals, with two students tying for fifth place in the nation.

06/05/2024

WOW, another academic achievement for Alexandria Arndt!! Keep up the great work. Go wolves!!

Burnsville, Minn. - The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference announced the spring All-Academic honors earlier today. Northern State University student-athletes were recognized on the NSIC All-Academic Team and NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence. 64 Wolves student-athletes were honored from the....

06/05/2024

Congratulations Alexandria Arndt for an amazing academic achievement!

We are proud to announce the students who have earned a place on the Spring 2024 Academic Recognition list! Congratulations to our outstanding students. Your achievements make us proud! 🌟

See the full list here: https://bit.ly/3RaPvua

06/05/2024

Happy summer speech and debate enthusiasts! Although the school year is over, we are already getting excited for the 2024-2025 speech and debate season! We are looking for students who have a passion to speak up, be heard, or are just looking for a welcoming and easy activity. Message us or contact Dr. Foote of the NSU Speech and Debate team. Have a great summer and go wolves!!