Local Teen Named 2023 State Champ in Congressional Debate

By Cathy Miller

Olivia Taboada was awarded a New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education at The College of New Jersey on June 2. The Lopatcong resident became the 2023 state champion in Congressional Debate (District 23) about two weeks prior to her graduation from Phillipsburg High School.

Olivia joined the debate team in her freshman year of high school, around age 13. She explained, “I was in Girl Scouts at the time and my mother said, ‘You’ve got to join Speech and Debate. You always yell at home, you’re really active at home. You’ve got to join.’ I said ok. But when I showed up for the first practice I thought, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ When I told my mom I didn’t want to do Girl Scouts or debate, she said I had to pick one. I chose Speech and Debate. I fell in love with it after that, somewhat begrudgingly at first. Safe to say it turned out pretty well.”

Congressional Debate was not where she started, but slowly got acclimated to it, until it became her “thing,” her main event. She laughed, “Every weekend I’d be going to random high schools and yelling at people I didn’t know. I got trophies for it! Actually, yelling is a little brutal, it was more like nice organized talking.”

Beyond debate, Olivia was a flute and baritone player in the PHS marching band and a drum major during her senior year, participating in several charity events with the band. Additionally, she was involved with the club “In Her Element,” an empowerment group for girls and women.

With all her debate prep and tournaments, surprisingly there’s still time for hobbies. Olivia enjoys crocheting. She loves playing with her dog Charlie, a 13 year old cocker spaniel/poodle mix. She enjoys going on car drives with her friends, exploring different towns, Frenchtown being a recent favorite.

She plans to attend Temple University in the fall and study International Business, with a possible minor in Political Science. “I want to work in an elevated corporate setting, dealing with global connections between companies, doing international financial deals, brokering and things like that,” she explained. “That’s my main goal. Having connections with the global world is pretty interesting,” a concept she discovered through her debate work.

Olivia described her path to state champion. “The tournament that we all competed in to become state champions is run by Dave Yastremski, Vice President of the New Jersey Speech and Debate League (NJSDL). He oversees all the major operations and stays in contact with our coaches.”

From March 17-18, about 22 schools competed in the New Jersey Speech and Debate Tournament at Hunterdon High School. There were many divisions of the events (Novice, Junior Varsity, Varsity). Within Olivia’s event there were about 80 competitors, however only the Varsity winners were awarded, of which there were 17. Mr. Yastremski alerted their coaches of the Governor’s Award winner in each event.

Each state champion has their own main event, which isn’t always a debate, it could be a speech that is more performative. In Olivia’s main event, Congressional Debate, topics change based on the round, but often include current events, economic developments, and foreign policy. “In Congressional Debate, we essentially role-play Congress.”

She continued, “We pretend that we’re senators, and it’s a one-versus-all situation where, for five minutes, you say your part and what you think. During the three hour round, which averages about 16 people, you listen to everybody else speak, then you have the opportunity to question them. Whoever speaks the best and has the best questioning is adjudicated based off that.”

The official ceremony for the Governor’s Award in Arts Education was held at The College of New Jersey on June 2, where Olivia Taboada, nominated by the New Jersey Speech and Debate League, became the 2023 NJ state champion in Congressional Debate.

After accepting her medal, she commented, “I was absolutely honored when I received the award. It means a lot to me and the NJSDL, as it shows that our effort and commitment to our community and our event didn’t go unnoticed. It’s wonderful to know that the Governor’s Awards value the performance, intelligence and importance of public speaking and the dividend it will pay in the future.”

Initiated in 1980, the Governor’s Awards in Arts Education highlights the achievements of New Jersey art educators and students in disciplines as varied as dance, music, poetry, visual arts, speech, debate and theater. Olivia commented, “Debate and Speech is a niche category of the Governor’s Award. Most everything else is more arts-oriented.”

The NJ League and the NJ District compete in two different national Speech and Debate events – the National Catholic Forensics League, held in Louisville, KY and the National Speech and Debate League, held in Phoenix, AZ.

Olivia detailed, “You have to qualify in a separate tournament to compete in nationals.” She has participated in both, and won eighth in the nation in Congressional Debate in the Catholic Forensics League tournament this year.

Of her experience at the Speech and Debate League tournament she said, “Phoenix was the day after high school graduation, and I went for a week. This time I didn’t compete in Congressional Debate, I competed in a different event.”

Olivia believes if politicians were to listen closely to these debates, it would get them thinking. She reasoned, “If we are this active and this well informed, then maybe they should consider what we have to say!”

In closing, Olivia added, “I think it’s super important for people to be well-informed about the world they’re living in and to vote in the elections.”