Members of Marshall's Thundering Word Speech and Debate Team to compete in Tokyo, Japan

The Thundering Word will compete against approximately 20 schools from within the United States as well as those from other nations, said Clara Adkins, director of Marshall’s speech and debate program.

Adkins said the team has been preparing for the international competition since October or November.

Adkins also said members of the Thundering Word chosen to go to Japan are “top performers and top workers” who were selected by her and Nancy Jackson, assistant team director, using “a scoring system, that took into consideration “whoever completed the most goals, whoever had the most events ready … and their work ethic.

“That’s the great thing about being a part of the speech and debate team and the reward for putting in as much time and effort and … work ethic as they do is that they get to experience … things like this and are rewarded, even though they have to work when they get there,” Jackson said. “It is nice to be able to … offer this experience for them because … some of them would never be able to do anything like this. Most of them never would.”

Thundering Word team members Grace Stowers, a freshman political science major from Millcreek, Utah, and Olivia Hindman, a second-year secondary education chemistry major from St. Albans, West Virginia, both said the trip to Japan will be their first time being outside the United States. George Urling, a junior cyber forensics and security major from Midkiff, West Virginia said he has never been to another country, although he did take a cruise when he was younger.

Hindman, who will compete in three events in Tokyo, said she is excited to experience the culture and food of Tokyo and Japan and to “be able to meet new people” through the competition and hopes to make friends, compete well and improve for herself at the competition.

Stowers, who will compete in four events, said she is looking forward to “seeing this new culture and being immersed into this” and is “really excited to try to put my best foot forward” at the competition. Stowers said her hopes for the competition include “putting a good name to Marshall … (and) really proving how great our team is.”

“I feel very proud to be on this team,” said Urling, who will compete in five events and is in his third year as a team member. “I’m very proud to be a Marshall student, period, but knowing that I’m on a team that we’re kind of representing all of West Virginia at this tournament means a lot. ... As, like, a born-and-bred West Virginian and knowing how the state can be looked down on, it feels like a great honor to be able to represent the state on an international stage at something like this.”

The 14 other members who qualified for the Tokyo trip are Aaryn Bonyak, Aayush Damai, Zoe Davin and Frances Harper of Huntington; Kia Booth and Adley Fry of Proctorville, Ohio; Gabe Corbin of Point Pleasant, West Virginia; Ella Hiles of Sharonville, Ohio; Ben Chambers of Athens, West Virginia; Lily Mills of Martinsburg, West Virginia; Mason Pomeroy of Nettie, West Virginia; Matthew Lebo of Vienna, West Virginia; Liv Stockwin of Homer, New York; and Bryson Connolly of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.