Diablo Valley College’s Speech & Debate team won gold in all three categories at the five-day Phi Rho Pi National Championship held last month in Bethesda, Md. In doing so, DVC became the second community college team ever to take gold in all three categories.

Ending the season with record-beating scores, the DVC team topped its previous record at Nationals by nearly 70 points — and scored the third-most points of any community college dating back to 1995.

“All year I saw how hard every single person on this team, including the coaches, worked to be the best version of themselves,” said second-year competitor Nour Barakat, 21, who took home one gold medal in Readers Theater and one silver in Dramatic Interpretation.

“Beating the record by nearly 70 points feels like all the sacrifices everyone made really paid off.”

In total, DVC took home 34 awards, with all 14 Speech & Debate students bringing home medals from the Maryland tournament, held April 6-11.

Emma Chigbu, a second-year competitor, placed second nationally, earning three gold medals in Prose Interpretation, Poetry Interpretation and Readers Theater, along with one bronze in Duo Interpretation.

“I decided to do this a second year because I love the competitive atmosphere and I was determined to beat my record from last year,” said Chigbu.

“I feel incredibly proud of all the hard work I put in to surpass my record from last year.”

Kenza Aya Dje, a second-year competitor as well, earned three gold medals in Prose Interpretation, Duo Interpretation and Poetry Interpretation, placing fourth in the nation.

And this reporter, also a second-year competitor on the team, earned two gold medals in Prose Interpretation and Readers Theater, along with one silver in After Dinner Speaking, placing fifth in the nation.

Meanwhile, debate partners Christina Sun and Garret Slody didn’t lose a single round in Parliamentary Debate.

Not only did the DVC team break its own record at the Phi Rho Pi championship in Maryland, but also scored the highest points at the Northern California Forensic Association Championship Tournament in February.

In March, DVC Speech & Debate also won top sweepstakes at the State Championships held in Concord, with a total of 335 points — more than doubling the score of the second place winner.

“This is the first year we’ve had excellent students in both speech and debate,” said professor Robert Hawkins, a DVC Speech & Debate coach since Fall 2015.

“We typically skew to one side of the activity, but this year we had a strong balance, which led to a stronger result.”

Barakat credited “the coaches a hundred percent” for the team’s resounding success throughout the season, referring to coaches Hawkins, Paul Villa, Drew Morgan and Sydney Alexander.

“They give up so much of their personal time for us. It makes you be more grateful and give up more of your time,” Barakat said. “We are very lucky to have the coaches we have.”

But for Hawkins, it’s the students that make the team so successful.

“It all comes down to the students,” he said.

“At the end of the day, what makes a successful team is not decided by the coaches — we are not doing the speeches — it is decided by the students. Success follows hard work, which begins when students believe in the power of their own abilities, voices and performances to impact people.”

Hawkins also said the school plays a big role in the team’s accomplishments.

“It starts with institutional support, which we have fought hard for over the years. It can be a challenge for a team to get the college to recognize the importance of communication, speech, and debate for our students,” he said.

“We are thankful that at present, we enjoy support at all levels of our institution.”

Professor and coach Villa emphasized dedication and effort as fundamental to their success.

“When I was coming up as a competitor and a coach, anytime I got the ear of a national champion coach or student, I tried to ask them about what their secret was,” Villa said, “and every single one of them told me the same thing: we just do more work than the other teams. And so I basically just committed to trying to make that statement true here at DVC.”

“I coach during the winter, summer, [and] literally hundreds of hours a year that I am not paid for,” he added. “I do that because I love it, I love forensics, I love competition, and I love seeing students that have it within themselves rise to the occasion.”

For the students who came home winners from Maryland, it was also important to recognize the team dynamic as a key to their success.

“Coach Hawkins always says ‘rising tides lift all boats,’ and we were really able to see that come to life at Nationals,” said Barakat, “because if one of us succeeds, it not only motivates everyone else but adds to our team sweep points.”

For Chigbu, the experience of being part of the championship team has been a lasting one.

“I love the DVC Speech & Debate team deeply. This team has had a profound effect on my life,” she said.

Barkat, who has transferred to UC Berkeley to pursue law, agreed.

“DVC Speech & Debate will forever be a home to me. I love this team, this community, and this activity so much,” she said.

“The team is a family and I am forever grateful that I got the opportunity to be a part of that.”

Disclosure: Reporter Kylie Bryan is a participant on the DVC Speech & Debate team and competed in the Phi Rho Pi National Championship.