Speech & Debate Team

Debate Team PhotoWelcome to the homepage of the Maricopa County Community Colleges Speech & Debate Team! The MCCCD Speech & Debate Team (or Forensics Team) serves students attending community colleges throughout the greater Phoenix area.
 

For Team or Program info Contact:

Angelica Grigsby, angelica.grigsby@gccaz.edu, Head Coach at Glendale Community College (GCC)

Destinee Sior, Destinee.Sior@domail.maricopa.edu, District Coach at all MCCCD campuses.

 

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Want to build your speech & debate skills?

We recommend:

  • Argumentation (COM222) You will participate in the discussion and practice of the use of evidence, applied reasoning, recognition of fallacies, selection of arguments, and methods of analyzing issues. Prerequisites: ENG101, or ENG107, or equivalent.
  • Public Speaking (COM225) This course is designed to enhance your ability to present public speeches confidently and competently, as well as to build your information literacy and critical thinking skills. Prerequisites: ENG101, or ENG107, or equivalent.
  • Communication Activities (COM281AB) This course is designed to provide students with competence and confidence in a variety of speech situations. May include presentations at speech competitions or at community organizations.

The Maricopa Community Colleges Speech & Debate program is housed in the Department of Communication at Glendale Community College and is supported by the Maricopa County Community College District. It is a co-curricular program designed to advance students' academic pursuits in a competitive environment.

Founded in the 1970s at Glendale Community College (GCC), the team primarily competed in speech and interpretation of literature at intercollegiate competitions. In the mid-2010s, the GCC team added academic debate to its slate of events. Over the years, the team has enjoyed competitive success at regional and national-level competition.

In 2018, GCC began an expansion project to give students throughout Maricopa County the opportunity to compete in speech & debate. The first major step was hiring an MCCCD district-wide coach in addition to the Head Coach and Assistant Coach at GCC. For the first time, students throughout Maricopa Community Colleges will have the opportunity to compete in intercollegiate speech & debate. Beginning in the academic year 2017-18, students at Estrella Mountain Community College, Paradise Valley Community College and Phoenix College will have the opportunity to compete alongside GCC students as part of the newly-constituted Maricopa County Colleges Speech & Debate Team. In the coming years, the program plans to expand to additional campuses.

 

Coaching Staff

Angelica Grigsby, Head Coach

Glendale Community College

angelica.grigsby@gccaz.edu

Destinee Sior

District Coach at all MCCCD campuses

Destinee.Sior@domail.maricopa.edu

 

Regional Staff/Assistant Coaches

Glendale CC - Roxan Alexander-Arntson, roxan.arntson@gccaz.edu

 

Administration

Pam Joraanstad, Ph.D.

Department Chair of Communication

Glendale Community College

pam.joraanstad@gccaz.edu

Loren Schwarzwalter, Ph.D.

Glendale Community College

Maricopa Speech & Debate competes in all 11 American Forensic Association sanctioned Individual Events: After Dinner Speaking, Communication Analysis, Dramatic Interpretation, Duo Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking, Impromptu Speaking, Informative Speaking, Persuasive Speaking, Poetry Interpretation, Program of Oral Interpretation, and Prose Interpretation. We also compete in National Parliamentary Debate and International Public Debate, while dabbling in other events such as British Parliamentary (aka- Worlds-style debate) and National Forensic League Lincoln-Douglas Debate. Overall, Maricopa is a comprehensive program; if an event exists, we will do it.

 

Interested in joining the MCCCD Speech & Debate Team? Contact one of our coaches:

Angelica Grigsby, angelica.grigsby@gccaz.edu Head Coach at Glendale Community College

Destinee Sior, Destinee.Sior@domail.maricopa.edu District Coach at all MCCCD campuses. 

Maricopa Colleges internationally-known speech & debate team has won awards all over the U.S. and around the world. The team competes with other community colleges and four-year universities in events including oral interpretation of drama, poetry, and prose; impromptu and extemporaneous speaking; and various formats of debate such as Lincoln-Douglas and National Parliamentary debate. 

Glendale Community College Forensics was founded in the 1970s under the direction of Jim Mancuso. At the time, the team primarily competed in individual events (speech and interpretation of literature).

In the mid-2010s, coach Jay Arnston started growing the debate squad. Under Arnston and, current head coach, Kiefer Storrer, the GCC debaters enjoyed significant success in debate on the national stage.

In October 2018, GCC Forensics re-constituted itself into the Maricopa Community Colleges Speech & Debate Team, with the early participation of Estrella Mountain Community College, Paradise Valley Community College, and Phoenix College. The new additions are being developed by District Coach, Shawn Briscoe.
 

Major Awards

Phi Rho Pi Nationals

Phi Rho Pi, the National Junior and Community College Forensic Association and Honor Society, offers students a full-service national tournament with 11 individual events, three forms of debate, and interpreters' theatre.

Year Award Award Type Debate Team College
2018 Gold Medal National Parliamentary Debate Shawn White & Jacob Schneider GCC
2018 Silver Medal International Public Debate Shawn White GCC
2017 Bronze Medal Extemporaneous Speaking Jeff Lewis GCC
2017 Bronze Medal Impromptu Speaking Jeff Lewis GCC
2017 Bronze Medal NFA Lincoln-Douglas Debate Robert Magnus GCC
2016 Silver Medal Impromptu Speaking Lucas Theriault GCC
2016 Silver Medal International Public Debate Lauren Michaud GCC
2016 Silver Medal National Parliamentary Debate David Turpin & Lucas Theriault GCC
2016 Silver Medal Program Oral Interpretation Lauren Michaud GCC
2016 Bronze Medal Impromptu Speaking David Turpin GCC
2016 Bronze Medal Speech to Entertain William Longo GCC
2016 Bronze Medal Speech to Entertain Lauren Michaud GCC
2014 Silver Medal Speech to Entertain Evelyn Michaud GCC
2014 Bronze Medal Extemporaneous Speaking Nate Gerhart GCC
2014 Bronze Medal National Parliamentary Debate Eric Yahn & Destinee Sior GCC
2012 Bronze Medal Communication Analysis Joshua Walsh GCC
2012 Bronze Medal Communication Analysis Shannen Walsh GCC
2012 Bronze Medal Persuasive Speaking Shannen Walsh GCC
2012 Bronze Medal Speech to Entertain Shannen Walsh GCC
2011 Bronze Medal Dramatic Interpretation Lewis Robinson GCC
2011 Bronze Medal Persuasive Speaking Bjorn Lundberg GCC
2010 Bronze Medal Persuasive Speaking Elizabeth Calvert GCC
2010 Bronze Medal Persuasive Speaking Anna Ludlum GCC
2010 Bronze Medal Persuasive Speaking Lewis Robinson GCC
2010 Bronze Medal Persuasive Speaking Danielle Saenz GCC
2009 Bronze Medal Communication Analysis Anton Nowels GCC
2009 Bronze Medal Dramatic Interpretation Madison Alexander GCC
2009 Bronze Medal Duo Interpretation Anton Nowels & Madison Alexander GCC
2008 Gold Medal Prose Interpretation Caleb Taylor GCC
2008 Silver Medal Poetry Interpretation Joanna Cox GCC
2008 Silver Medal Prose Interpretation Mitchell Call GCC
2008 Silver Medal Prose Interpretation Anton Nowels GCC
2007 Gold Medal Duo Interpretation James Markos & Jim O'Callaghan GCC
2007 Gold Medal Speech to Entertain James Markos GCC
2007 Silver Medal Dramatic Interpretation James Markos GCC
2007 Silver Medal Informative Speaking Daniel Benavidez GCC
2006 Gold Medal Prose Interpretation Daniel Benavidez GCC