National Champ! Brian Yu Can Talk Circles Around All Challengers

It’s been a good month for Brian Yu. He graduated from Monte Vista High School, won the national championship in Extemporaneous Speaking, and he’s looking forward to attending Harvard University in the fall.

Yu spent last week in Dallas competing against hundreds of students from across the United States at the National Speech & Debate Tournament—the largest academic competition in the world.

“The National Tournament showcases the brightest and most talented students in the country,” said J. Scott Wunn, Executive Director of the National Speech & Debate Association. “Winning a national championship is the most prestigious honor a student involved in speech and debate can achieve. We are extremely proud of Brian Yu for this outstanding accomplishment.”

For the Extemporaneous Speaking category, students are given a choice of three questions related to current events in the U.S. They have 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech that must include evidence from articles that they have gathered prior to the event (before knowing what the topics of the questions will be).

Yu had to present the speech from memory without notes in front of thousands of people and knowing that he was being broadcast live across the globe. Prior to going to the competition, Brian had already impressed audiences, taking first place for the past three years as the California State competition in the area of “National Extemporaneous.”

Along with the championship title, Yu will receive a $1,000 college scholarship for his achievement.

“Speech and debate builds communication skills that will benefit students for the rest of their lives,” said Wunn. “These students are the leaders of tomorrow, and we are honored to support them as reach their future goals.”

The Monte Vista Speech and Debate program was established in 1974 by Al Gentile. Since 1989 the program has been under the leadership of long-time coach and teacher David Matley. Under Matley’s leadership, the Monte Vista program has qualified students to Nationals for 24 consecutive years.

Brian Yu is the fifth Monte Vista student under Matley’s leadership to win the National Tournament and the first student in National Extemporaneous. Matley’s other National Champions were in Lincoln Douglas Debate and Congress.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” Matley said. “Brian Yu represents everything this program stands for. Brian has been an exemplary leader on this team devoting countless hours to helping other students be successful. Winning Nationals was the perfect way to cap a phenomenal speech and debate career at Monte Vista which included three State Titles in National Extemporaneous and a 5th place finish at last year’s National Tournament.”