Senior competes at national speech and debate competition

North Hills High School senior Nickolas Bartel qualified to compete in the Congressional Debate event at the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament in Dallas, TX, in June. This is his second national tournament qualification and follows a third-place finish in the Pennsylvania High School Speech League Tournament earlier this month.

The North Hills Speech and Debate Club was launched in the 2016-17 school year after a long hiatus and has seen national qualifiers all three years. The club seeks to develop students’ skills in conducting effective research as they learn to craft logical, fluid and well-constructed arguments, expand their knowledge of topics not commonly discussed in their everyday lives and encourage critical analysis of topics in our world. Secondary teacher Dawn Zahorchak oversees the club.