At the TFA cross-examination debate state competition March 16, senior Sena Kucukkarca was named the champion in policy debate out of 212 total speakers across 1A-6A districts. Kucukkarca has participated in speech and debate since her sophomore year.

“Honestly, I mainly joined [speech and debate] because I saw people in suits and heels at an academic meet once my freshman year, and thought it was cool,” Kucukkarca said. “But going to tournaments and debating really helped shape the way that I approached rounds and competition [in preparation for state].”

Kucukkarca and debate coach Shelby Randolph said that the state win was initially unexpected.

“It was shocking at first because we didn’t expect her to place so high, when we found out she had an award,” Randolph said. “After the shock started to wear off I was really proud of her. She worked very hard at CX this year, and some breaks didn’t go her way, so for her to be able to end the debate side of her career in a positive manner was exciting and something I am definitely proud of.”

Randolph has been Kucukkarca’s speech and debate coach for three years. The senior claims that Randolph largely impacted her mindset while in speech and debate.

“I’d definitely say that Ms. Randolph’s insistence on my debate and speech career fueled a lot of my success,” Kucukkarca said. “She believed in me a lot, especially when I didn’t, and gave me confidence that I didn’t have prior.”

Kucukkarca’s CX season may be over, but she will continue to participate in other speech and debate events this year.

“I think that Sena can do whatever she puts her mind to,” Randolph said. “I truly believe she is one of the best in our state and these results prove that. I hope that winning this award will help build her confidence as we head to the final stretch of our season and she focuses on her other event, informative speaking.”

Though Kucukkarca has alternate plans for the future, she claims debate will still hold a strong role in her life.

“My future career goals revolve around medicine and becoming a doctor, but I definitely plan on continuing to be involved within the debate community,” Kucukkarca said. “This summer, I want to help at debate camps. Throughout the next debate season, I intend on helping our debate teams in their competition at district and hopefully qualifying for state.”