Diablo Valley College Speech And Debate Team Captures Northern California Championship

The Diablo Valley College (DVC) speech and debate team won the Northern California Forensics Association (NCFA) championship at the NCFA Spring Championship Tournament, held in Chico and Oroville in February 2024. This achievement is just one of many, with the team winning six of the past eight NFCA championships.

DVC’s team of more than 40 students defeated competitors from universities and community colleges across the Northern California region. Not only did DVC win overall by a wide margin, but many individual students were named champions in their specific events. Notable first-place wins for individual DVC students included:

• Eden Ozeri – Prose Interpretation
• Manahil Syeda – Communication Analysis
• Harsimar Saini – Lincoln Douglas Debate
• Harsimar Saini & Ameya Puranik – Parliamentary Debate
• Ameya Puranik – Top Speaker in Parliamentary Debate
• Prerana Gowda – Junior International Public Debate
• Prerana Gowda & Tristan Espana – Junior Parliamentary Debate
• Katrina Westfall – Novice After Dinner Speaking
• Aslan Brown – Novice Prose Interpretation

“DVC”s speech and debate team has become the most dominant team in Northern California. Multiple alumni across the team’s illustrious history came out to support the team, offering words of wisdom as the students headed into competition,” said Robert Hawkins, Co-Director of Speech and Debate, and Department Chair of Communication Studies at DVC

The DVC Spring Speech and Debate Showcase will be held on April 17 at 7 p.m. at the DVC Performing Arts Center on the college’s Pleasant Hill campus. The showcase will feature a performance that highlights several of the team’s most successful speeches, and a demo debate featuring some of the reigning regional, state, and national champions. Tickets are $12 if bought in advance, or $14 at the door. To purchase tickets, visit https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=229839.