With a devoted following of around 94 students and a no cut policy, speech team stands among the largest activities Benilde-St. Margaret’s has to offer. This passionate group of kids are more than just outgoing wall-talkers, they are extremely dedicated to speech as well as their speech family.

The speech team feels very blessed to have such a large family. In fact, the no cut policy is what draws many of the team’s members to audition. “[We are] fortunate that the school allows us to have a large team, and we have the luxury that we don’t have to cut people,” said Maura Brew, team leader.

And while the activity demands a lot of attention, practices are very flexible and are on the participants own time. “We accept you for who you are, and no matter how bad you are,” said senior captain Colin Fitzgerald agrees.

In order to bring the speech family closer together and make sure everyone is performing to their highest potential, category meetings have been created this year. These meeting are held with the belief that everyone can learn from each other. “More experienced members will be able to help novices find pieces, as well as help their pieces become more successful,” said senior captain Ben Zeman.

Winning or not, all speech participants are very excited to start competing. And while winning is what all members are aiming for, it is not the only thing participants gain in speech, they also gain more confidence and become more eloquent and poised individuals.[I am] excited to see students grow in speech and get out a lot out of it, regardless of winning medals,” said Mrs. Brew.

Team members also learn about reliability, which in turn prepares them for college and the future. “We have a high standard to integrity and commitment. Students are expected to find their own pieces and schedule their own practices,” said Mrs. Brew.

Many non-speech members may not know that Minnesota is a speech state. This means when the team competes, they are competing against teams that are already national champions. However, this does not hold participants back from excelling in speech–last year 22 members of their team went to state. “Every year [the students] impress the coaches with how talented and mature they are. They never fail to make us proud,” said Mrs. Brew.