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Forensics Society member Amy Solomito’09 (Coopersburg, Pa.) participated in the Interstate Oratorical Association’s (IOA) annual competition held April 26-28 in Santa Fe, N.M.
The IOA is the longest running speech competition in North America. Two people are selected to represent each state in the competition. Solomito, along with a student from Saint Joseph’s University, was asked to represent Pennsylvania.
“I am happy to end the year on a high note,” says Solomito, a Marquis Scholar and English major. “Qualifying for semi-finals is the highest point of my career thus far. It was an honor to be considered of the same competitive caliber as the speakers in the round, and the experience gave me more confidence about my own speaking ability. I hope to carry over this success into next year.”
Competitors presented a persuasive speech at the competition. Solomito’s topic was the need for the federal government to adopt an “opt out” system for organ donation. It argues for presumed consent to organ donation to solve the nation’s organ shortage. “Opt out” is the opposite of the current policy to “opt in.”
Solomito was a semi-finalist, placing her among the top 12 speakers in the nation.
“Every time I go to IOA, a competition that has such a long and rich tradition of oratorical excellence, I feel as if I am watching history happen,” says Scott Placke, director of forensics. “I am so proud of Amy for contributing to that very special tradition. She is a very talented speaker and a dedicated competitor.
“I am also very proud to work at Lafayette, where this sort of activity is valued. An opportunity like the IOA competition is one of the best educational experiences a student can have. The intellectual rigor and dialog that goes into writing and performing a speech of this caliber is what college should be all about. Lafayette can be proud of being so dedicated to its students and their education. The College’s support is incredible and Amy’s success is the true Lafayette experience.”
Lafayette has qualified a competitor for the IOA competition every year for the last four years. This is Solomito’s second time attending the tournament, as she attended last year as a first-year student.