Jada Irene's post on Goodwall - After 3 years on my high school's Speech and Debate Team, as Captain, I attended the State series for the final time, placing 1st at Regionals, 3rd at Sectionals & advancing to State for the first time! After attending the State series, I was a State Finalist in Poetry Out Loud for Illinois, making me a Top 5 competitor out of 10,000+. It was very surreal and exciting as someone who began high school new, shy, and terrified of public speaking to have come so far! Using my Poetry as a vehicle for talking about the experiences and trauma of blackness and black womanhood, as well as police brutality and state violence in our communities, I was able to bring those uncomfortable but very important topics to a wider audience, allowing them to experience some of the struggle and emotion that are part of our daily lives. #QuarantineWithEve #publicspeaking #university #socialimpact