Article by Olivia Simonson. Photo by Spencer Norling.
Spencer Norling is originally from Melrose, Minnesota, and is a senior at St. Cloud State University majoring in Geography and Planning. Alongside his major studies and writing his senior thesis, Norling is also a crucial member of the St. Cloud State speech and debate team, as he is the co-president of the organization and competes with the team all year.
Norling knew that he had wanted to study geography almost all his life, but it wasn’t until high school when he found his love of speech and debate.
“I was apart of the knowledge bowl team in ninth grade,” said Norling, “but I found this sense of community with the Speech and Debate team that I joined in the tenth grade. I was overwhelmed by that sense of community, and we qualified for state, so we had that success going.”
When he got to St. Cloud State, he found that there was a way for him to continue this passion while completing his studies.
“I found out that there was similar program on collegiate level. I joined and I felt that exact same existing community. And some of my closest friends are on the speech debate team,” said Norling.
As the co-president, Norling deals both with the practice aspect and the logistical aspect. He often runs student activities at their practices and says that he has three goals for the team overall: the betterment of oneself, the betterment of the team, and the betterment of the college overall.
“First, I want people to join the team,” says Norling, “I want people to join the team and make friends first and foremost.”
The Speech and Debate team functions similar to a “sandbox activity”, as Norling refers to it. The more effort one puts in, the more they will get out of it. But he also encourages people to show up just for fun, even if they do not compete. They host practices on Tuesday through Friday, with their main practice nights being Wednesdays.
Norling’s second goal is to further the team, which is by making the members more diverse and able to perform different kinds of speeches.
“That’s where I want people to try different parts, like, if you’re doing more of a platform speech than doing more of like an active role, you’re a debater doing more of a platform speech on so forth,” said Norling, “I want people to really explore themselves as well and try out different categories as well.”
The final goal that Norling strives for is to better St. Cloud State – specifically, this includes how the team presents themselves at competitions and out in the community.
“We want St. Cloud State to set the example of what a good team should be, both in competition and off to the sidelines. We want them to be talking to other teams and making friends as well as competing,” Norling expressed.
Through his time here, Norling has found that the Speech and Debate team has had the biggest impact on his time at St. Cloud State, and he looks forward to one more state competition with his team on Feb. 21 and 22, hosted by the University of Minnesota.
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