In this blog post, we touch base with a few of our new coaches in our Young Speakers Camp! During the camp, coaches worked with small "Houses" of students (like Harry Potter!) to build their skills in speech and debate. They also got to choose different jobs (actor, politician, businessperson, scientist) and focus on a style of public speaking most aligned with that job. New assistant coaches, Abby, Hania, and Ana, are all students who did speech and debate themselves in high school, making it especially meaningful to give back!
Interview with Young Speakers Camp Coaches
Ana: How would you describe the camp in 3 words?
Abby: Fun, safe, growth
Hania: I would describe this camp as enlightening, comforting, and fun.
Ana: Did you see growth from the students throughout the camp?
Abby: Absolutely! For some kids it’s more obvious, but all of the kids grew in some ways. Some kids came in super shy and were scared to socialize with the other campers, but made close friends by the end, and others made great progress developing and idea into an amazing speech, and for many it was a combination of both.
Hania: The most growth I’ve seen in students was becoming more open with each other
Ana: What was your favorite part?
Abby: My favorite part about coaching was seeing the kids become really excited about their ideas and helping them develop them from a single thought into a whole speech they were proud of.
Hania: My favorite part was when the students would start becoming each other's friends.
Ana: Would you teach this camp again?
Abby: I would LOVE to teach this camp again! I had a great time helping the kids and getting to know the other coaches 🙂
Ana: What aspects of teaching do you enjoy the most?
Abby: I really enjoyed when the kids were proud of what they accomplished and what they created.
Hania: The part of teaching I love the most is seeing when the students really like the assignment and really want to work on it.
Ana: What aspect of public speaking did you see the most improvement in?
Hania: I saw a lot of students find their voices a little at the end of the camp.
Abby: I saw the most improvement in the students’ confidence! Most of them went from being unsure about their ideas to being able to deliver a full speech in just 5 days.