A total of 13 students across a wide variety of academic backgrounds competed in the South Carolina Speech and Theatre Festival held at Newberry College. Photo by Monique Sacay-Bagwell
Students at Lander University are not merely trained in their respective areas of study, but are presented with a plethora of opportunities to fine tune core skills in composition, critical thinking, communication and public speaking before launching their own successful careers.
Earlier this semester, several students demonstrated this dedication to a holistic, career-focused education at the annual South Carolina Speech and Theatre Association College Festival held at Newberry College. A total of 13 students, across a wide variety of academic majors, competed in a number of different categories, including persuasive speaking, animation voiceover, original spoken word, poetry and TV broadcasting. Four students even won awards for their work.
Nursing major Isa Garcia won the festival’s coveted Triathlon Award. To be eligible for this award, a student must compete in three different categories, and at least one in each of the festival’s three divisions: theatre, public speaking and media. Garcia competed in animation voiceover, audition monologue, poetry (winning first place) and TV broadcasting (winning second place).
Meanwhile, three other students placed in separate categories. Chiara Lechna, a cybersecurity and political science major, won third place in the Persuasive Speaking category. Jamaya Morris, a media and communication major, won second place in the Original Spoken Word category. And Pat Madison, a visual arts major, placed second in the Animated Voiceover category. Madison also competed in the TV Broadcasting category.
Prof. Monique Sacay-Bagwell, professor of speech and performance at Lander who organized Lander’s participation in the festival, praised students for their hard work in preparing for the festival’s competitions. “The majority of our students were freshman who had never competed in anything before, let alone a speech and theatre festival,” she said.
Sacay-Bagwell provided mentorship to several students who competed in the festival, alongside Dr. Robert Stevenson, professor of communication; and Prof. Starlyn “Dusty” McGee-Anderson, teaching assistant professor of English.