Joseph Tyler, Idaho’s 2018 top speech and debater
The top high school student in Idaho for speech and debate is in Idaho Falls. The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), lists Skyline High School senior Joseph Tyler as No. 1 for the gem state, and No. 16 in the country.
“I’ve been doing debate for the last four years, and roughly 140,000 kids across the entire country compete in speech and debate. Of those, 5,000 a year end up competing at the national tournament. Very few students compete multiple times, and I’m one of less than 50 students in a year, to qualify every single year to the National Speech and Debate Tournament,” said Tyler.
He is the first student from Idaho Falls School Dist #91 to go to nationals four years in a row.
“I was looking through the course catalog as they give you as an eighth-grader and I saw this class called Debate, and I needed an elective so it seemed to fit perfectly,” said Tyler.
A stumbled-upon elective that has led him to become one of the top debaters in Idaho.
“I really like speech and debate because it gives me and really anyone who participated in it, an outlet for them to be able to express their ideas. Because, honestly, who’s going to listen to a high school kid talk about international affairs between the United States and China? No one would do that on any sense but it allows my to discuss things that matter to me but also important issues,” said Tyler.
It has also helped him grow and develop into the young man he is today.
“Middle school and elementary school I was this incredibly shy, really nerdy, reserved kid. And then I’m thrown into this program called Speech and Debate, and I’m competing against hundreds of people who I’ve never met before, and I get to know them better. I’ve made so many friends, I’ve become so much more extroverted. And people have seen this actual difference,” said Tyler.
He has his eyes set on June when nationals will be held in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
“I’m hoping to win. Ideally, that is the goal is to go win Nationals. I am expecting a lot of fun. I am competing at a level I’ve never been at before having four years of experience, and I’m expecting the best competition I’ve ever had,” said Tyler.
He competed in the state tournament at Madison High School in Rexburg on Friday, in the radio broadcast and impromptu speaking categories. To help him travel to Florida to compete in Nationals, click here for his GoFundMe page.
