Cypress Park High School Student Awarded National Speech & Debate Association’s Highest Honor
By Paolena Avalos, Cypress Park High School (A High School Journalism Network Collaboration)
Cypress Park High School senior Kelsea Stone earned the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Premier Distinction Degree earlier this month.
Students earn NSDA points by competing in and winning debates as well as through service activities. Only about the top 3% of debate students in the nation reach the Premier Distinction Degree threshold.
Stone is currently ranked third in Original Oratory based on NSDA points in the state of Texas. She has also seen success in other public-speaking NSDA events, such as impromptu.
“This accomplishment means so much to me,” Stone said. “It shows me hard work, dedication and just what being grounded in the right place can really do for you.”
Stone is the fourth student in Cypress Park High School's history to have won the Premier Distinction Degree, and the first CFISD student to achieve the honor this year.
She joins past Cypress Park Premier Distinction Degree honorees Cinthia Morales (’22), Nicole Lee (’25), and current senior Camila Araujo. She is also one of six Cypress Park students to have received the NSDA Academic All-American Award, which recognizes outstanding debate students with great character and a GPA above 3.7 on a 4-point scale.
“Premier distinction, it’s a reflection of both dedication and competitive success,” said Tammi Raley, Cypress Park’s speech and debate teacher. “You can’t just earn it by showing up; you have to consistently compete. You have to perform successfully, and Kelsey puts in the work at each level that very few students achieve. In ten years, we’ve had four students reach this level, and I’m just really proud of Kelsey for earning her spot among them.”
Editor's Note: This article was written by Paolena Avalos, a student at Cypress Park High School in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, through a partnership between My Neighborhood News and the District as part of an established high school journalism network collaboration. My Neighborhood News is a proud supporter of local youth and warmly welcomes the opportunity to provide a platform for students to share their work.
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