Four members of the Shady Side Academy Senior School Speech and Debate Team competed in the 2020 National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament, which was held online due to COVID-19 from June 15-20.

Seniors Akshay Amesur (Informative Speaking), Max Minard (Humorous Interpretation) and Giri Viswanathan (Congress), and junior Qingqing Zhao (Congress) all competed in the NSDA preliminary rounds at nationals, with Amesur advancing to the round of 60. Amesur and Minard submitted pre-recorded videos of their speeches to the online competition, while Viswanathan and Zhao competed in live Zoom sessions. Minard was also recognized as the NSDA District Student of the Year for the Pittsburgh District.

Viswanathan also qualified to compete at the National Catholic Forensics League (NCFL) Grand National Tournament, which unfortunately was canceled due to COVID-19.

Congratulations to all four students!