Mission Statement

The Lone Star College Speech and Debate Program is an exceptional educational experience that benefits the student, the system, and the community.  The lasting legacy of forensics training in Debate, Public Speaking and Oral Interpretation of Literature is the ability to conceptualize and communicate ideas clearly and effectively.  The stringent academic emphasis of forensics training serves the student and the system because it supplements curriculum that is offered in other academic programs and helps to produce better-educated students who are more likely to succeed in undergraduate studies in all fields of study.

Furthermore, the contribution of an academically focused and ethical forensics program to its sponsoring university lies also in its enhancement of the good reputation of that institution, for Intercollegiate forensic competition is unique in that it provides a traditional and well recognized medium for measurement and comparison of a community college system's academic excellence.  Speech and Debate tournaments have the virtue of being public events, with a great potential for generating positive publicity for our college system.  

The influence of forensic training on Lone Star College students is both positive and powerful.  Forensics is often an avenue for students to achieve greater academic success, increased scholarly motivation, and a deeper appreciation for scholastic achievement.  Forensics training serves not only our system but also the community in that it is a historically recognized pathway to success in business and in public life.  It is an important objective of the Lone Star College Speech and Debate Program to prepare our students to become the fine future educators, administrators, and leaders who will make their indelible mark on the local, national, and global communities in years to come.

COACHING STAFF

Wade Hescht – Director of Forensics

Wade Hescht currently serves as Chair of Drama, Humanities and Speech for Lone Star College-North Harris.  He has been coaching the nationally recognized speech team for the college since 1994.  Mr. Hescht earned his undergraduate degree at the University of St. Thomas and his Master of Arts degree in Drama from the University of Houston.  Wade is an active member of the American Forensics Association, American Reader’s Theater Association, Texas Intercollegiate Forensics Association, Texas Speech Communication Association and Phi Rho Pi. 
Honors:

• American Reader’s Theater Association’s Legacy Award 2017
• Lone Star College Teaching Excellence Award in 1998
• Lone Star College Teaching Excellence Award in 2018
• National Communication Association’s Michael and Suzanne Osborn Community College Outstanding Educator 2017
• NISOD’s Excellence in Teaching in 1998
• NISOD’s Excellence in Teaching in 2018
• Phi Rho Pi’s Distinguished Service Award in 2006
• TIFA’s Educator of the Year in 2003
• TSCA’s Educator of the Year, Community College Division in 2010 

Casey Garcia – Coach

Casey Garcia is a national champion performer. Casey began his forensics career in elementary school and has been involved with the activity ever since. In high school, he received numerous regional accolades in interpretation events, Extemporaneous Speaking, writing events and acting competitions. Casey’s love for forensics led him to the University of Texas at Austin where he had a successful college career. His remarkable college accomplishments include a National Championship in Dramatic Duo Interpretation, National Runner-Up in Dramatic Interpretation, as well as reaching national final rounds in Dramatic Interpretation and Programmed Oral Interpretation and earning a Top 3 Speaker honor. Casey has made forensics his lifelong passion and considers himself a devout and dedicated student of the Forensic Arts. While he has been involved in forensics for close to three decades, Casey has also proven to be a consistently successful coach of competitive speech programs around the country as well as coaching numerous national champions throughout his career. He enjoys coaching all interpretation events and relishes the opportunity to coach all styles of performance in all forensic categories. Casey has taught at some of the most respected speech camps in the country including: The University of Texas National Institute in Forensics, George Mason Institute in Forensics, Florida Forensic Institute, Western Kentucky Summer Forensics Institute, Bradley University Summer Forensics Institute, and James Logan Summer Forensics Academy. Casey has coached students to successful showings at the State and National level in all Interpretation events including Prose, Poetry, HI, DI, Duo, Duet and POI. His students have advanced to final rounds at the N.F.L. and N.C.F.L. national tournaments and Casey has also coached various national champions at the collegiate level. Currently, Casey is a Professor of Speech, Drama and Humanities at LSC-North Harris College in Houston, Texas and is an active coach at the collegiate level. Casey Garcia is a proud alumnus of the University of Texas Speech Team.

Sebastian Frost – Coach

Sebastian Frost is currently speech faculty at Lone Star College-North Harris where he served as an assistant director and then co-director of forensics from 2012-2017. During this time, the North Harris team won many state and national championships and sweepstakes. Sebastian has been involved in forensics for a consecutive 20 years and has won multiple local, state, and national titles as both a competitor and coach. High school is where he started his journey of forensics success, winning 1^st place at NSDA qualifier in Duo, Humorous, and Dramatic interpretation going on to final at NSDA 2006 in prose. In 2008, he found success in prose again breaking to the top 24 at the AFA national tournament and winning gold at the Phi Rho Pi national tournament. Sebastian got his undergraduate degree in communication and theater as well as his graduate degree in communication from Texas State University, San Marcos. At Texas State University, he served as a graduate assistant coaching the speech and debate team to receive multiple TIFA state championships and AFA sweepstakes trophies. Sebastian is a forensics generalist, having competed and/or coached every event forensics offers on the middle school, high school and college level.

Benefits

A Speech and Debate Team ensures that students have the best opportunities available to them. Consider the following benefits:

1. Strong Research Skills

Students learn how to use a library at a very sophisticated level. Their learning goes beyond what students typically attain in other courses and in visits to the library. They learn to use advanced databases, government documents, and electronic online information. Plus, when they research, they must do so at a level of depth that goes well beyond a typical class paper, including the lengthier ten and twenty-page ones. Dedicated, championship level students will spend hours working at your library, mulling over articles and books, researching at a level that rivals the work college masters candidates put into their theses. These students bring these research skills to others at our school as well, offering tips and help.

2. Strong Communication Skills

Students in speech and debate learn skills in speaking. The effort to do their best in competition encourages them to communicate in the most effective way for their audience. Students learn to adapt to differing judges because every round they must adjust to the judge in front of them. They improve as communicators as a result of the many comments they receive from a diverse group of judges. (Not sure this is needed since we don’t participate in team policy debate, but just my opinion.  Doesn’t hurt to include it since it does make a good point.) It is true that students in championship policy team debate have a tendency to speak too rapidly. However, the better debaters are able to speak slowly and persuasively when their judges prefer that style of delivery. And the "quick" debaters with whom I have worked, were also, without exception, able to adjust to regular speaking situations with clear and articulate presentations (and were far better than other students who did not participate on the speech and debate team).

3. Increased Knowledge About the World

Students in speech and debate learn about a wide variety of issues confronting our world. Students intensively discuss and research issues like immigration into the United States, our policy toward China, and what we should do to reduce environmental pollutants.

They read the newspaper, contemporary journals, poetry anthologies, novels, scripts and various other books. The competition and diversity of ideas that students are exposed to at speech tournaments dramatically increases student awareness. They bring this knowledge to their other courses sparking discussions and thought among their peers.

4. Increased Critical Thinking Skills

Students in speech and debate do not accept information uncritically from others. Instead, they think about how strongly supported the arguments of others are. They learn to think through arguments and to analyze them critically. At tournaments, students are subjected to a wide variety of arguments. Students who debate only in a classroom are not exposed to as wide a diversity of arguments, leaving them less knowledgeable about the world.

5. Develop Team Work Skills

While students engage in this competitive activity, they also work together to make them- selves as strong as possible. Students in speech and debate form a strong and cohesive group. Trips to tournaments bring students together in the van, at restaurants, and at hotels. They form strong bonds with each other that do not happen in a simple classroom setting. They study and work together. They are friends with each other. In competing against other schools, students learn ethical approaches to competing as well as the importance of working together as a team.

6. Build Educational Connections with Other Schools

Students on a speech and debate team make strong connections with other schools. Students compete and speak with students from other schools. Students get feedback from instructors at other schools. Coaches learn from the wide variety of speeches they hear and that enhances their instruction in classes they teach. These connections enhance the learning experience and add to the strength of our school.

7. Benefits to Student Futures

Maintaining a speech and debate program provides more opportunities for students trying to advance their academic careers by seeking admission into undergraduate and graduate programs. Students who have competed in forensics are considered top notch recruits for graduate school because recruiters know that these students are committed, hardworking students. At many communication and law schools as well as political science graduate schools, students are offered scholarships for their skill in forensics. This opportunity would be lost without such a program.

Contact Us

Wade Hescht
Director of Forensics
281.618.6541
Wade.hescht@lonestar.edu