Pahrump Valley High School has many clubs and activities and a new club was recently introduced, Speech and Debate. There are approximately 10 students in the club at the time this article was written and the members of the club are learning new useful skills.

   This club is ran by Taylor Herron, an English teacher here at PVHS. This is his first year teaching. Herron has many future goals for the club. His main goal is for them to be educated and successful. He says, “The sky’s the limit for students involved in this: some could become politicians, journalists, or, simply, well-informed members of our community. Overall, I hope these kids are happy, respectful, and successful in their pursuits.”   

    The members joined for many different reasons. Some like Sophomore Holly Rodriguez joined after hearing from a friend at another school about how much fun they had. Others like Juliet Leighton, heard stories from her dad when he was in high school and thought it sounded like a fun experience. Steele Adams joined speech and debate so his girlfriend wouldn’t win all the arguments.

  Melanie Topliff, who helped start this club, said, “I wanted the club so people could get together and compete. Speech and Debate also helps get kids out of their shell and develop people skills.” The skills members gain from being a part of Speech and Debate can help them throughout their lives.

 Being a member of Speech and Debate is very helpful for students in their educational life and help them gain valuable new skills that will help them get jobs, gain people skills, help form arguments on topics that they’re passionate about, gain communication skills, and it looks great on a college application.

  Speech and Debate members are looking forward to the different academic aspects of this club:  Speaking, learning, and delivering well-educated arguments. Adams said “I hope to learn more about interesting topics as well as form an educated opinion on them.”

   There are still many changes and improvements that can help the club and members reach their goals. Members want more people to join, more money, better organized meetings, and help in their future endeavors.  

  The benefits of Speech and Debate are great and can help members benefit greatly academically, socially, and intellectually. According to Herron, “Joining this club is a great opportunity to grow as a person and to earn some scholarships!”