Photo Courtesy of Lucas Van Leeuwe. Nicholas Schultz (left) and Emma Maudal (center) teamed together to take fourth as a duo. Bethany Jassen (right) took sixth as a great speaker.
Let’s Talk Speech
Public speaking is the number one fear of most Americans. 13 NUHS students are looking to demolish this fear through a series of competitions.
February 14, 2018
The New Ulm High School speech team had their first meet of the season on Saturday, February 3. Three members of the NUHS speech team placed at the tournament. Nicholas Schultz and Emma Maudal teamed together to take fourth place as a duo, and Bethany Jansen took sixth place as a great speaker. The team is coached by Lucas Van Leeuwe and Sarah Thursby, who both teach in the English department at NUHS. These coaches meet with the team once a week, and they also meet with each member of the team individually once a week to inspire, assist and help prepare each member of the team for the upcoming meet.
“For me, my goal is to try to get the kids to like speech or to like giving speeches, to become less nervous, to gain confidence and just to learn to become a better speaker and if I can do that, I consider that a win,” said Coach Van Leeuwe. This team’s main focus is not on whether they win or lose; their main concern is growing as an individual to improve their public speaking skills.