Glenelg High School Student Diya Shah Speaks Her Mind

November 17th, 2025

Like most students headed into their junior year, Glenelg High School (GHS) student Diya Shah began the year full of nerves as she considered the Advanced Placement (AP) classes and college decisions that lay ahead. But being nervous is something Shah doesn’t shy away from, especially when it comes to participating on GHS’ Speech and Debate team.

She joined the student-led club during her freshman year with zero experience but a strong interest in the communications field.

“I went in blind to the club meeting. Of course I was nervous but I did it anyway,” said Shah. “I saw a lot of people pursuing the debate side of things but I was attracted to the speech aspect and decided to try the Original Oratory competition right out of the gate.”

Original Oratory is a formal speech contest where competitors write a 10-minute speech on a subject of their choosing, typically on a topic they are passionate about and that aims to inspire or motivate the audience to change their perspective or take action.

Shah explained, “The idea of being able to talk about anything I was interested in really appealed to me. The premise for my first speech was to explain why lying can be a good thing.”

She admits “I flopped” the first couple competitions but she still managed to earn 6th place in Original Oratory in the Baltimore Catholic Forensics League and qualify for the Grand Nationals in 2024 which is no small feat for an inexperienced freshman.

“I met Kelli Midgely, a former Speech and Debate Coach at Wilde Lake High School, when I attended the Nationals competition,” said Shah. “She saw my potential and got me in touch with Mr. Curtis Somers who volunteered one hour every week to coach me on a Zoom call. I could count on him every single Tuesday to show up and support me.”

Somers, who is a Technology Education teacher at Homewood Center, said that while he was a huge sports enthusiast having played on several teams in high school, it was his participation in Speech competitions that provided him venues that made him a successful adult. “I can think of no activity that builds life skills and promotes opportunities to improve self-worth, confidence, and poise as these Speech and Debate activities,” said Somers.

During her sophomore year, Shah worked with Somers to explore a new competition category called Declamation which involves memorizing a 10-minute speech written by someone else and presenting the message in an original and engaging manner. Students typically start their Speech journey here since this category is reserved for underclassmen only. Shah started by using a speech written by a former student about deaf accessibility in America.

“Mr. Somers helped me with my tonal shifts, my walk, my eye contact, and body language. And, I connected with a deaf educator, Mrs. Shellie Shipley, from Arizona to help me learn the sign language needed for the performance.”

In 2025, Shah earned first place at the National Speech and Debate Association Chesapeake District Tournament in Original Oratory, qualifying her for Nationals; and earned 6th place in the Nation in Declamation speaking when she attended the National Catholic Forensics League Grand Nationals in Chicago.

Now, as a junior and captain of the Speech and Debate team, she hopes to help other students as they pursue this interest.

“I want to provide new speech members with the tools they need to develop their public speaking skills, confidence, and help them find themselves through speech,” said Shah. “The skills you learn in Speech and Debate are extremely essential to have in the college and career readiness space.”

As Shah continues her high school journey, taking AP classes, participating in Speech competitions and pursuing the Cybersecurity Networking Academy at the Applications and Research Laboratory, she has her eye on the future. “I really want to study cybersecurity in college; I’ve fallen in love with it. I like coding and creating things and I also want to study communications because of my experience with Speech and Debate. I want to find a way to combine these two things in college.”

What’s her advice for those who have no experience in Speech and Debate?

“Sometimes you need to jump in head first. It’s nerve racking but it doesn’t kill you. You just need to go for it and you’ll find there are so many pros that outweigh the cons. I learned how to talk to people. I made new friends. I’ve improved my communication skills. I’ve learned from mentors. Those pros outweigh the fear. And yes, you may flop your first time, but the beauty of falling flat is getting back up and doing it again.”