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Six Mooney students headed to national speech competition
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Mooney High School debate team members who qualified for the national speech competition are, from left in front: Michael Angiolelli, 17, of Canfield; Johnny D’Andrea, 17, of Canfield; Jennifer Rondinelli, 17, of Canfield; and Elise Jamison, 17, of Canfield. In back are Dan Driscoll, 15, of Salem; and Melissa Eperjesi, 18, of Poland.
Six Mooney students headed to national speech competition
By Kalea Hall
Youngstown
Unlike other teenagers who might choose to hide in a crowd, a group of six at Cardinal Mooney High School are addicted to performing in front of crowds.
In fact, to them it is a rush of excitement unlike any other.
The six students on the Cardinal Mooney Speech and Debate Team are heading to Kansas City for a national speech competition in June to compete in multiple categories against students from across the nation.
“There is nothing like being in front of a crowd,” Junior Jen Rondinelli said.
The team will compete in duo interpretation, debate, original oratory, student congress and United States extemporaneous speech at the national competition. In order to qualify for the national, a student must place first, second or third.
Rondinelli competed with Johnny D’Andrea, a junior, in the duo interpretation category. They took the second-place title at the district competition in Boardman and first at the state speech competition.
“It’s a lot of evolving it to make it better,” D’Andrea said.
The two performed “The Boy Who Fell Into a Book,” a cut, or skit, about a boy named Kevin who gets so engrossed in his book he falls into it in a dream and meets his favorite character, Rock Fist Slam. The two go on an adventure together and develop a friendship.
“We always just want to be different from everyone else,” Rondinelli said. “We want to be funny and make people laugh and cry at the same time.”
The duo takes the crowd through different worlds and books through unique voices and movements as they try to get back to Kevin’s bedroom. The story ends with Kevin saying goodbye to his newfound friend and evokes emotion in the crowd.
“When it’s a dream, you can be anywhere you want to be. I’ll see you in the pages, kid,” Rock says to Kevin.
D’Andrea, who plays the character, Rock, and Kevin’s dad, is passionate about acting and hopes to take it up in the future. Jen, who plays Kevin has not decided on what she would like to do in the future with acting.
“[Speech] teaches the gamut of life lessons,” said Diane Mastro-Nard, former head coach of the speech and debate team at Mooney for 35 years. “There is no course in any classroom or extracurricular that teaches the life skills this does.”
Some of those life skills include communication, competition and criticism.
Jennifer Gonda, the head coach and forensics director for the team, is also a Mooney alumna who has used the skills she learned on the team in life.
“When I was in college, I was not intimidated in these 200-people classes to talk,” Gonda said. “Debate has given me a strong sense of justice. My father will no longer fight with me because I will use my debate skills. It really builds confidence.”
Gonda coaches Dan Driscoll, a sophomore at Mooney, in debate, which includes a variety of skills from fluency of speech to having an infinite background of knowledge on the given topic.
“I love it,” Driscoll said. “It just feels right, debating all the time.”
Also competing in the national competition are Elise Jamison, junior, who placed second in the district for original oratory for her speech on “Affirmation Addiction;” Melissa Eperjesi, senior, who won the district spot for United States extemporaneous speech; and Michael Angiolelli for student congress.