Meg Robinson and Dariel Hererra have both received state and national recognition from the Indiana Schools Speech and Debate Association (ISSDA) and the National Speech and Debate Association (NSSDA) for their achievements on the PHS Speech and Debate Team.

Meg Robinson, a senior, was tied for first this year as the top individual speaker at the ISSDA State Speech Tournament with a state championship in Prose and second place in Dramatic Interp. In her career, she has made 5 out of 5 state finals and might have had more, but in her freshman season, the state tournament was canceled because of COVID.

Meg also qualified for the national tournament 3 out of 4 times and was an alternate in the 4th year. Presently, she is ranked by the NSDA as the #1 point leader in the United States in Prose. She is also ranked 11th in Dramatic Interpretation. Her sophomore year she placed in the top 30 in Dramatic Interpretation out of 350 entries. Then, in her junior year, she finished 15th in Dramatic Interpretation in the nation out of nearly 300 entries. She has qualified again this year and will compete in June in Phoenix, Arizona.

Dariel Herrera, a sophomore, along with his partner Jonathan Valasquez brought home the State Championship this year in Duo Interpretation and placed 7th in the state in original Oratory. Dariel and Meg were the top two sweepstakes speakers for the PHS Speech Team this year.

Dariel Hererra was recently selected as a member of the new National Student Leadership Council (SLC). He was nominated by one of his coaches, Dan Tyree, and then was selected by the District Council, which includes coach David McKenzie. Finally, Dariel was chosen to be one of the 24 students in the United States for this council. The Student Council is brand new, so Dariel isn’t sure what is in his future. He knows that he was one of 24 chosen from 18 states and 1 international member. He knows that he will take part in shaping the NSDA’s future as the association will be 100 years old in 2025 and is planning strategic realignment for its next 100 years.

See both Meg Robinson and Dariel Hererra, along with his duo partner Jonathan Valasquez, perform at the Annual PHS Speech Showcase on May 17 at 6:30 PM in the Historic Rees Theater.

John Oliver and US Granules have been a PHS Speech Team Corporate Sponsor for over 20 years.