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Sabrina Richard, a senior at Westfield High School, is the first Westfield student ever to receive a scholarship for speech and debate.
“Next year I will be at the University of Alabama, where my plan is to double major in gastronomy and mass media,” Richard says. “I am overwhelmingly honored by the scholarship I received for speech and debate. I was pretty insistent on having a signing day, because I see so many athletes who sign, and I wanted to show other students that they could earn scholarships for accolades beyond athletics or academics.”
Richard had a very busy school year.
“Like athletes, I signed a letter of commitment, and I have meetings and practices that are required of me,” she says. “I figured that, like athletes, I would get to sign it at my high school. I invited my coaches, Ralph Robinson and Holly Reineking, my recruiter from Alabama, and my family.”
The school administration team at Westfield High School was very excited for her, and very supportive of her request.
“I got to sign the second week of March, which was right after I had competed at Speech districts, and earned a spot to go to the Speech and Debate National Tournament in Louisville this summer,” Richard says. “It capped off a really exciting week for me.”
Richard says if students know where to look for scholarships, and what to ask, they can find a lot of opportunities.
“Many schools offer scholarships for this or that, and even if it seems outlandish, someone has to earn it,” he says. “I toured Alabama early in my high school career, and I knew it was where I wanted to go to school. I heard about their forensic team, and it is one of the most decorated teams in the country.”
Richard was able to meet the team at the Speech and Debate Nationals.
“I soon began working towards earning a place on the team,” she says. “I didn’t find out about the scholarship’s existence until my junior year, but it just goes to show that there is something out there for everyone.”
“I have been in Speech and Debate since seventh grade,” she continues. “My math teacher was starting up the team, and one day I talked too much in her class and she demanded I join. I’m very glad she did. At Westfield High School I continued to compete, and my freshman year I became the first freshman from Westfield to qualify to the Speech and Debate National Tournament.”
Richard also became the first student from Westfield to qualify four times.
“The best part of Speech and Debate has been the community,” she says. “For my Girl Scout Gold Award, I hosted the first-ever girls-only Speech and Debate meet. This last school year, it was the first in-person meet we’ve had since March 2020. More than the excitement about Westfield placing well, or the excitement of completing my Gold Award, my favorite part of the day was watching the competitors come together.”
Richard says there were seniors who hadn’t seen their Speech friends in almost two years.
“There were freshmen, sophomores and juniors who were experiencing their first-ever in-person speech meet,” she says. “In the halls between rounds, I saw people exchanging contact information, giving advice and offering encouragement – all of the things that made me fall in love with Speech and Debate. I am proud to curate that for those that competed at my meet.”
Richard, who has appeared on the Food Network, says Speech and Debate has vastly improved her communication skills.
“While Speech has taught me a great deal about presentation and expression, Speech and Debate has taught me to be confident in myself,” Richard says. “I feel like a more capable, strong person when I utilize the skills Speech and Debate has taught me. Competing has improved my ability to cope with stress and criticism, and practices have instilled strong public speaking skills, which has enhanced my ability to discuss ideas, opinions and issues that are important to me. I know that Speech and Debate has made me a stronger advocate for myself, which only serves to benefit me in personal and professional relationships.”
Along with being a captain on the Speech and Debate team, Richard is the public relations lead for Westfield High School’s Lantern digital newspaper, and she has been on the staff for three years.
“I am a content manager for Rock TV Westfield’s video announcements,” she says. “I co-founded and emcee for Rock Talk, which is Westfield’s version of a TED Talk.”
Richard believes the best part about Westfield is the diversity of opportunities available.
“Westfield has the benefits of numerous businesses – both small and the large chain stores,” she says. “There are the amazing facilities at Grand Park, and we should of course pride ourselves on the outstanding schools in Westfield. All of these wonderful things get to take place on land affluent with history. Westfield is a community enriched by its past, which makes the future that much more exciting.”
