Cali Cope-Kasten-2010 Fellow
This past summer I worked with the National Forensic League, which is an organization that organizes public speech and debate tournaments for high school students. As part of my partnership with the NFL, I created a database of contact information for all of the school districts in MN; by accessing that database, MN schools with well-established programs can reach out to school districts that do not currently have programs to bring the benefits of forensics and debate to more students. I also worked with the NFL to compile a portfolio of existing research on the benefits of public speaking; that portfolio will be given to state legislators who are looking to cut programs like forensics from the state budget as money in schools gets tight, so that they can see how critical these programs really are for students.