East High's Alyvia Hardy signs on to Concordia University days after qualifying for nationals

Mar. 13—CHEYENNE — Alyvia Hardy is a four-time national qualifier in speech and debate — an incredible feat for any high school student.

Hardy was surrounded by her parents, peers and teachers in the Cheyenne East High commons as she signed a scholarship to Concordia University on Tuesday afternoon.

"Throughout her time with us, Alyvia has embodied the true spirit of speech and debate," East head coach Marcus Viney said at the signing celebration. "Her dedication to her craft coupled with her infectious humor has not only entertained us, but inspired us."

Hardy went above and beyond during her high school career. Through her dual enrollment at Laramie County Community College, taking advanced placement courses, travel softball and dance practice, Hardy has managed a 4.1 weighted grade-point average and ranked third in Wyoming for speech and debate.

Nationally, Hardy ranks 17th in humorous interpretation, 14th in duo interpretation and 22nd in Dramatic interpretation.

"As a freshman she was selected novice of the year by her coaches and hasn't looked back since," Hillary Hardy, her mom, told the Wyoming Tribune Eagle in an email. "It's been an amazing experience and really made a lasting impact on her."

The National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) offers an honor society, where middle and high school students earn rewards based on the number of "merit points" they've earned from participating in speech and debate activities. The NSDA Honor Society is "one of the oldest and most respected honor societies known to college admissions offices," according to the NSDA website.

The highest honor a student can earn is premier distinction, equivalent to 1,500 points — only 2.8% of high school students in the nation earned this distinction last year. By the time she graduates in May, Hardy will have earned enough points to win that award twice. Hardy's nearly 3,000 NSDA points are equivalent to roughly 1,000 speeches, not including practice, Viney said.

"Speech and debate is a place where you can go to express your opinions and how you feel about the world," Hardy said. "You don't have to worry about being judged by other people, because they all want to do the same thing."

Concordia University representative Angelina Stinson, who is also a Cheyenne South High graduate, said most students walk into the college circuit with little to no speech and debate experience. Hardy, she said, is truly a standout applicant.

"It's extravagant beyond any means," Stinson said. "I am very impressed. And I'm very proud of her."

Hillary Hardy said her daughter fell in love with speech almost immediately. Hardy was already an active participant in softball and dance, but Hillary saw speech quickly become another passion.

"You could tell from a parent's perspective that (she was) kind of in love," Hillary said.

Hardy said her passion for theater sparked her interest in speech. Although she dabbled a bit in debate, Hardy told the WTE she preferred speech because of her love for acting.

"I think it's better than debating, honestly," Hardy said. "There's a thing called drama where you pretty much try to make people cry."

There are several different types of debate events in the world of speech and debate. Hardy specializes in humorous interpretation, where the speaker uses humor to tell relatable stories. Dramatic interpretation is where the speaker portrays "a realistic, emotional journey of a character(s)."

Hardy qualified for two national tourneys over the weekend at a district-level competition held at Laramie County Community College. Hardy's first national tournament, the National Individual Events Tournament of Champions, is May 10-12 in Omaha, Nebraska.

She also qualified to compete in the Greater Des Moines National Tournament this summer, which starts June 16. This competition is more selective and difficult to get into, Hardy's mom said, because only the top three from the district tourney are able to compete. Des Moines, Iowa, also happens to be the location of the NSDA headquarters.

Her mom said Hardy first considered continuing speech and debate through college after attending a traveling softball game in Colorado.

"It's honestly an interesting story," Hilary said in an email to the WTE.

The original plan was to meet up with the softball coach, when Hardy and her mom bumped into the speech and debate coach, too. The coach told Hardy about forensics, which is a form of speech and debate at the college level.

"His words to her were, 'I googled you, and you are really good, have you considered forensics in college?'" Hillary wrote in the email. "It was all up-hill for her after that conversation and her decision to focus on speech in college."

Hannah Shields is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's state government reporter. She can be reached at 307-633-3167 or hshields@wyomingnews.com. You can follow her on X @happyfeet004.