This fall, 13 San Bernardino Valley College students competed in a virtual speech tournament, showing off their skills online instead of on stage. SBVC was one of a few colleges in the state to not cancel its tournament, and instead adapted it to a virtual format.

The students represented six different SBVC professors, and after competing in two preliminary rounds, the top six speakers made it to the finals. More than 75 people virtually attended this evening session, which was won by Kristen McGregor. Eduardo Vega came in second place, April Regalado finished in third place, and Josiel Perez, Isais Rivera, and Zane McCollum were finalists.

"Moving the tournament online was a collaborative effort that was successful," Speech Prof. Susan Mattson said. "The Communication Studies Department worked closely with the Arts, Lectures, and Diversity Committee and the Office of Student Life to reinvent the event online. We had to think outside of the box in reorganizing the event, but it worked!"

With the speech tournament under their belt, the Communication Studies Department plans on hosting a debate tournament in the spring.