26 AUGUST 2023 By Mallory Gleich In 1925, a Wisconsinite from Ripon College named Bruno Jacob founded the National Forensic League – now known as the National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) – to motivate high school students to participate in speech and debate activities. Almost 100 years later, a Phoenix Country Day School graduate, McKinley Paltzik, joined over 6,000 students from 1,343 schools at the NSDA National Tournament in Phoenix. She won in the Extemporaneous Speaking category at the 93 rd annual competition. Moreover, she’s had back-to-back championship wins and an undefeated season – meaning she’s won every tournament she’s competed in since March 2022. McKinley has been participating in Speech and Debate since seventh grade. She’s said she’s always loved public speaking, citing her fourth-grade current event presentations as the spark that got her going. “I love the adrenaline rush the most. I used to do ballet, and my favorite thing about it was the butterflies in my stomach before I stepped on stage. In debate, I got to perform with those butterflies again,” she said. Thus far in high school, McKinley has participated in four NSDA-hosted events: The Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Congressional Debate, Impromptu Speaking and Extemporaneous Speaking. As far as her speaking career goes, though, she’s participated in “too many events to count.” “I’ve done dozens of events on the local and national circuit,” she said. “I’ve competed at and won Harvard, Yale, the Glenbrooks Tournament in Chicago, the New York City Invitational, the Montgomery Bell Academy Round Robin in Nashville, the Tournament of Champions in Kentucky, the NCFL Grand National Tournament, and more.” “There are so many accolades and stories about McKinley’s unprecedented season (and career) in Speech and Debate that it would take a small book to express them all,” Dad, David, said. “Her mom and I and her three siblings could not be more impressed and proud of her accomplishments and the journey she took to achieve them.” McKinley’s preference – and master craft – is Extemporaneous Speaking, in which a competitor has 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech answering a topical question about current events. The competition is a week long, with over 20 categories, including Humorous Interpretation, Informative Speaking, Congressional Debate and Big Questions Debate. Competitions are held across the U.S. – this was the first time Phoenix has hosted since 1999. There were over a dozen rounds of competition over the week in June. McKinley’s final question was, “How should the world prepare for the appearance of new diseases due to climate change?” Which was fitting, as her favorite topic to speak on is anything international. “Participating in my home state was amazing. The locations for Nationals are posted years in advance, so I’ve known since middle school that my last tournament ever would be at home. It was a real privilege to say goodbye to the activity here,” McKinley said. “The most impactful moment was watching her give that last speech on Friday morning on the big stage and her looking out at the supporting audience of thousands – that hit me in a big way,” David said. “I was excited; I was the proudest person in the room; I was emotional. I was also extremely thankful for the people that had an impact on her throughout this journey. Now, she moves onto the next chapter and gets to continue writing (or speaking) her story.” McKinley will attend Harvard University in the fall, where she will study government. “I actually first visited the school when I went to campus for a debate tournament my freshman year, and I’m so excited to spend the next four years there,” she said. speechanddebate.org Speech and Debate world record holder heads to the Ivy League By Mallory Gleich AHS grads and Troop 6 Boy Scouts, Theo Kaercher and Mark Radonich, recently earned their Eagle, the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouts program. The designation – which only four percent of Scouts ever achieve – requires years of hard work and dedication. Theo is heading to Scottsdale Community College in the fall. For his Eagle Scout project, Theo built a “puppy pit” for the Arizona Animal Welfare League. It’s located in the front lobby, which means when folks come in, they are greeted with happy, rambunctious puppies. “I’ve worked on a few projects with AAWL that I really enjoyed, so I wanted to go back for my Eagle Scout project and do something nice for a local shelter,” he said. “One of the first projects I did as a Scout was to put new turf in the play areas for the animals – this stuck with me throughout my scouting career.” After seven years of scouting, Theo says his favorite part was going to camps with his friends, hanging out and laughing throughout the years. For the summer, Theo took a job as a Boy Scout Camp Counselor at Catalina Island in California, where he teaches art, woodworking, leatherworking, pottery and basketry for those seeking to earn their art merit badge. In the future, Theo hopes to be an art teacher. Mark is heading over the Pacific to attend the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall. He joined Boy Scouts in the second grade and has been active in the organization for around 11 years. In fact, due to his involvement in Boy Scouts and other activities, Mark was selected to receive the Marine NROTC Scholarship to study civil engineering at the university. His Eagle Scout project took place at Desert Tails, a puppy mill rescue center in Scottsdale. “I repainted the facility, acquired and installed a bunch of shelves, built two benches and had a small fundraiser for needed supplies. I chose Desert Tails because I felt like they needed it most,” Mark said. “Through the fundraiser, I obtained 200 pounds of dog food, cleaning supplies, food bowls and more.” The Eagle Scout ceremony happened at Prince of Peace Church on May 8. “My Eagle rank was a hard and rewarding journey,” Mark said. “It definitely tested my resolve and perseverance. I feel a strong sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that I am doing my part in making the world a better place.” Mark says he will miss the camping aspect of Boy Scouts, among other things. “Nothing is more fun than hanging out with friends, eating junk, and messing around. I had some great times with my friends during the campouts,” he said. Mark is the 228th and Theo the 229th Eagle Scout to come out of Arcadia’s Troop 6 since it was founded in 1934. Nationwide, more than 2.5 million Scouts have earned the Eagle rank since 1912. Troop 6 meets at Prince of Peace Church regularly throughout the school year. For more information, contact Troop 6 Scoutmaster Matt Keeler: keeler.matthew@gmail.com. Arcadia’s Troop 6 recognizes latest Eagle Scouts McKinley Paltzik joined over 6,000 students at the NSDA National Tournament in Phoenix. PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID PALTZIK Mark Radonich Theo Kaercher

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