As a first year member of the school’s new speech team, senior Gina Paxson competed at the state level this year.
The speech that brought Paxson to state was a monologue from the play “The Women of Lockerbie” that was from the perspective of a mother whose son died in a plane crash. Because she ran over her time limit, her rank in the competition was sixteenth place. But first place isn’t everything to Paxson, who was happy just to have the chance to compete at such a high level.
“For a speech Mr. Fruits and I didn’t think would make it to state, it was pretty cool,” said Paxson. “It’s the fact that you worked so hard to get somewhere and you get a chance to prove yourself. Going there, I almost felt like I was in a dream.”
Paxson joined the speech team at the beginning of the school year, when it was first created by English teacher Brian Fruits. Her dedication and love for the team quickly became evident.
“At first I didn’t want to join the team, but Mr. Fruits asked me to,” said Paxson. “But after the first competition where I got first place I was hooked.”
She was made captain because of her dedication to the team and the tournaments.
“Gina has always been committed since day one,” said Fruits. “She’s a captain because no one puts in as much effort as her. She’s a workaholic and she gets it all done.”
Paxson has enjoyed her time on the team, and her talent shows with her record of wins. In every competition, Gina placed somewhere in the top six. She hopes to pursue speech team further by joining a team when she goes to college next year and has plenty of support for her efforts.
“Gina can go as far as she wants,” said Fruits. “If she wants something, she seizes it. I was glad to see her grow and I was proud to watch that growth.”