“It was make or break. [We] either qualify or [we] don’t. It was Giselle and I; we were the last hope that Bonita had to qualify,” Speech and Debate Treasurer, state qualifier and junior Eiffel Sunga said. 

On Feb. 25 through Feb. 26, Bonita Vista High’s (BVH) Speech and Debate team competed at the San Diego Imperial Valley Speech League State Qualifiers A at Carlsbad High School. On the first night of the tournament, BVH had nine teams of two competing in Public Forum, one of the debate events offered at the tournament. Though, only seven teams made it out the second day. After the rigorous competition, one BVH team qualified the pairing of Vice President of Speech and junior Giselle Geering and Sunga who will be representing Bonita at the California High School Speech Association state tournament. 

For the first six rounds, the state qualifying tournament operated on a double-elimination format where a pairing cannot lose two rounds. Since Geering and Sunga proceeded to the state tournament, they only lost one round, meaning that their record at the end of the tournament was 5-1, according to Speech and Debate Advisor Eric Helle. 

“I’m really proud of how much work we put into this tournament because we knew that we really wanted to qualify. The week prior, we were working every night finding evidence and blocks for different arguments. I felt really good about our performance because I knew that we were prepared,” Geering said.

As Sunga and Geering were exiting their sixth round, Speech and Debate President and senior Abby Roman greeted them by asking how the round went. Sunga and Geering felt worried because Sunga forgot to refute one of her opponent’s main arguments in the round. However, Sunga described that they tried to maintain an optimistic attitude as they waited for the results. Despite their concern about their performance, their moods were lifted when Helle announced that they qualified for the state tournament. 

“As we’re cleaning up [after the round], Mr. Helle walks to [Giselle and me] and he [said] ‘How was that last round? Was it a tough round?’ Giselle and I were kind of agreeing. I said ‘No, it wasn’t anything we couldn’t handle’. It sounded like Mr. Helle was about to let us down and tell us that we lost and then he did a 180; He [said] ‘You guys are going to state’. Everyone started yelling and I said ‘Oh my gosh!’ and I ran to Giselle and we hugged,” Sunga said.  

Sunga mentioned that representing BVH is an honor. Additionally, she reminded people that qualifying to state cannot be attributed to herself and Geering’s success solely, but to the whole team, as they helped them prepare for the tournament. 

“It means a lot because Public Forum is an event that everyone on our team enjoys and a lot of people on the team put hard work into it. Leading up to the tournament, we did a lot of collaborative work and brainstorming discussions,” Sunga said. “So, Giselle and I’s success was [due to] the help of our team because of the ideas that they were telling us about.”

Since Sunga and Geering have been debate partners since their freshman year, their qualification for the state tournament marks a pinnacle moment in history for them. Geering extended her gratitude for Sunga as a debate partner—and as a friend. 

“I am so grateful to have her as my partner because not only is she a phenomenal debater, she’s a great person. She really cares about her friends. She’s so generous, genuine and kind. I want to tell her ‘thank you for sticking with me [because] I know I can [be] micromanaging and probably annoying’, but she deals with it and [remains] kind to me,” Geering said. 

But, Geering was not the only one who had something to say. Sunga also shared the appreciation she has for Geering’s work ethic and the involvement Geering had in shaping Sunga into who she is today. 

“Thank you for being the best Public Forum partner anyone can ever ask for. She puts so much hard work and research into all of our cases and there’s never a point where she [says] ‘I’m tired. I want to sleep’. She’s always ready to cut one more card ready [or] read one more article,” Sunga said. “That [work ethic] helps motivate me when I’m really tired and don’t want to do any more work. She’s helped me grow so much as a debater.”

Oftentimes, the topic being debated, also known as the resolution, is overlooked by debaters as an issue that affects people in the real world. According to Helle, he reminds Sunga and Geering that the main purpose of debating is not the wins or the losses, but the advocacy that teams are doing.

“My hope is that Giselle and Eiffel see their state tournament debate as a continued opportunity to advocate for people who need a voice. Winning and losing is not as important; what really is important in Speech and Debate is learning that all debate resolutions come from real-world issues that impact human beings. If Eiffel and Giselle can remember that they are giving voice to people who are often without [one], they’ve won the battle,” Helle said.

After reflecting, Sunga stated that a motto she has going into the state tournament is to “penguin feet her way to the top”, her friend, Yealin Lee, thought of it. Sunga clarified that this saying was from her experience during a Mock Trial tournament—a different club she was involved in. A photograph was taken of her where her feet are in the first position. As such, it became an “iconic photo” for Sunga. 

“I do have a motto: ‘Penguin feet your way up to the top’. After she found out that we had qualified for the state tournament she texted me that. It’s very motivational and I will penguin feet my way to the top,” Sunga said. “She told me that because she walks like a penguin and I know I’ve talked about how I walk like a penguin so I think that’s where it comes from.”