Your future, our focus
P O W E L L, W y o. - The national rankings aren't completely finalized yet, but it looks like the Northwest College forensics squad will once again be ranked second in the nation after the fall 2007 semester of parliamentary debate.
The Northwest team follows only El Camino College among community colleges across the nation, and is ranked 13th overall, which includes a list of 211 colleges and universities participating in parliamentary debate. This places NWC above regional institutions like the University of Wyoming, Denver University and Rocky Mountain College in Billings. NWC is also leading forensics powerhouses like the United States Air Force Academy, the University of California-Berkeley and William Jewell College.
"This year we continue to build on the momentum that we had last year," Duane Fish, one of the NWC forensics co-directors, said. "Our students have really had a very steep learning curve and have really done a fantastic job. While we have a young team, they have worked extremely hard, and their work has really paid off. I couldn't be more pleased with our success this year." In addition to Fish, the team is coached by Jeannie Hunt and Fred Ebert.
NWC speech team members must stay on top of world news to be prepared for the array of topics they might be called upon to debate at each event. So far, the topics have included Darfur, desalination, sanctions in North Korea, Iran, Iraq, third party candidates, lethal injections, firefighters in California, capital punishment, single sex education, diabetes education and staph infection, to name just a few.
Wyoming students competing on the NWC team include Sam Genoff of Casper; Nolan Goubeaux and Nik Vantine of Cody; Zachary Brackett of Jackson Hole; Laurel Moncur of Lovell; Doni Rae Chouinard, Jeshua Legman, Danyon Satterlee and Chelsea Williams of Powell.
Montana students are Lillian Schoer of Billings; Loraine Leslie, Miles City; ReAnna Lynn Kero and Shea Larson of Red Lodge; Lori Sallee and Megan Gouine of Roundup; and Pamela Garman and Tiffani Kennedy of Townsend.
Rounding out the team are Cali Christensen of Moroni, Utah, and Bryce Cornatzer of Tacoma, Wash.