Here at Lasting Impact!, we can’t wait to see all of your smiling faces in our camps, clubs, and coaching sessions this year! Whether you’re new to the world of public speaking or are a veteran, there are a plethora of opportunities coming up! Asking for advice can seem daunting, which is why our coaching philosophy is to come alongside you and support you every step of the way. We want to be an encouraging, uplifting sounding board for all of your ideas and strategies, while helping you craft your message to make the strongest impact possible! We know the struggle – all of our coaches are either parents or former students who have been blessed with a platform to pass on the experiences and skills that they have gained.
No matter what you’re looking for – Platform, Interp, Limited Prep, Juniors, Team Policy, Lincoln Douglas, general public speaking – we have a coach who would be happy to work with you to accomplish your goals. Whether you want to have a one-on-one session focused specifically on your speech, or if you’d rather be in a class setting, fellowshipping with other students while receiving valuable instruction, we would love to serve you this fall! It’s not too late to sign up… Here are the following clubs and coaches that are getting ready to launch…
Speech Clubs:
Apologetics: Noah McKay (STOA and NCFCA)
Extemp Roundtable: Marc Davis
Foundations of Platform Speaking: Emalyn Sharp George
The Art of Interpretation/Drama Club: Heather Neumann
Literary Analysis: Burned and Banned Books: Heather Neumann (second semester)
Debate Clubs:
Debate Readiness: Amy Eicholz
Beginner Team Policy: Emalyn Sharp George
Advanced Team Policy: Marc Davis.
Foundational LD Debate: Noah McKay
Intermediate LD Club: Hillary Kolssak
If you’re interested in taking your speech or debate to the next level, consider a private coaching session! These tailored, hour-long sessions are designed specifically around your needs to reinforce your strengths and provide additional growth! When you sign up for a coaching session, we’ll match you with a coach, and then find a time to meet that fits your schedule!
You all have been given a beautiful voice to use, and we’re excited to see where God takes you this year! You are never alone – God’s got you, and we’re all here rooting for you!
Heather Neumann – Founder of Lasting Impact!, Heather has worked with thousands of students, many of which were National Championship speakers! She was blessed to spend the summer traveling and teaching clubs all over the country, empowering students to embrace public speaking. Heather says, “There is a power your voice has. It has the ability to make a lasting impact. All you have to do is use it.”
AJ Neumann – AJ competed in Speech and Debate for five years, qualifying to The NCFCA National Championship each year. In 2016, he became the National Champion in two events- Original and Biblical!! AJ prefers to coach Platform and Interps, he wants to help you to create complexity, as well as characterization into your Speeches.
Adrian King – Adrian is a Stoa alumni who competed from 2017-2020. She competed in all three forms of debate – Parliamentary, Lincoln Douglas, and Team Policy – and qualified for NITOC in all of them. She also competed in every speech event except for Expository, earning the Founders Award three years in a row! She is dedicated to mentoring the next group of debate competitors and hopes to assist them in growing and flourishing in their skills.
Emalyn (Sharp) George – Emalyn has a BA in English and Liberal Arts, and is passionate about sharing a love for sound writing. She competed in the NCFCA for four years from 2017-2020. During that time, she competed in 11 different speech categories, and she was honored to compete at the National Championship each year. Additionally, she competed in Lincoln Douglas for one year, and Team Policy for three. She prefers to coach Team Policy and Platform speaking, encouraging students to build a strong, well-prepared base from which to work. Emalyn led the Lasting Impact! Team Policy Sourcebook Team for the 2022-23 Season.
Lynda DePasacreta – Lynda comes to us with a BFA in Directing for the Theatre and completed her degree at the Royal Academy of Dramatic art in London England. She has a passion for helping students find their voice as having lost her own for a while made her see that it doesn’t matter how talented you are, but how passionate you are for the subject you are speaking about. This is her 6th season with NCFCA and loves her role as lead speech coach for SNOW club in the great state of NH where she now resides with her husband and 4 children, the last of which, thankfully, has many years left to compete.
Anna Hultink – Anna Hultink is an NCFCA alumni who competed for four years, two in Team Policy and two in Lincoln Douglas. Her second year of LD she competed in finals twice, placing first at a qualifier and second at Regionals, qualifying to the National Championship. Anna is a co-author of the 2021-2022 LD Guidebook and she has experience in coaching Lincoln Douglas, having led the MI club Excelsior her senior year. She strongly believes that Speech and Debate has been transformative in her life, and she is excited to encourage and instruct other students in this style of debate throughout the season!
Noah McKay – Noah is a Speech and Debate alumnus currently pursuing graduate studies in philosophy through the University of Edinburgh. During his time in the NCFCA, Noah was a regional champion and national finalist in both Lincoln Douglas debate and apologetics. In 2017 (his senior year), Noah won first place in moot court and Best Advocate at two out of three national opens, receiving the “Iron Man Plus” Award at the National Championship. Since graduating high school, Noah has earned a B.A. in philosophy, presented original research at multiple academic conferences, and coached Lincoln Douglas debate for five years.
Marc Davis – Marc co-runs New England Debate. He debated for 6 years in NCFCA team policy and for 3 years in various forms of collegiate parliamentary debate, where he won numerous tournaments at both the regional and national levels. In the years since, he has coached dozens of debaters and speakers, including the 2019 National Champions as well as other nationally-ranked competitors.
Ethan Tong – Ethan qualified to Nationals in Moot Court both years he competed, earning an 8th place Oral Advocate award at the 2019 National Championship. He is currently a senior at Hillsdale College, studying philosophy and religion. He has participated on Hillsdale’s Mock Trial team and been twice awarded an All-Regional Witness award. Moot Court has been Ethan’s favorite public speaking event, and he can’t wait to share that passion with you!
Honor (Persing) Hoffman – Honor competed in NCFCA for 7 years, from 2015-2022, qualifying to Nationals in multiple categories. Honor coached her club in both team policy and speech, and loves helping students connect with their judges and become genuine and thoughtful communicators. Honor’s own passion will always be limited prep, although Team Policy also has a special place in her heart. If you want to really get her going, ask her why everyone should try extemp. Honor was part of the Lasting Impact! Team Policy Sourcebook Team for the 2022-23 Season.
Brendan McDonald – Brendan competed in NCFCA for six years in a variety of categories, including Team Policy Debate. During that time, he won three tournaments in Team Policy, including a National Open, and placed second at three others. He competed at the National Tournament his last four years of competition. In 2019, Brendan placed 4th at the Coolidge Cup in Vermont. He attaches to speech and debate a vital role in his development as a student and a person. Brendan attends college at the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in southern New Hampshire.
Still want more information on everything that is in store with Lasting Impact! in the fall of 2022? Check out the September Newsletter HERE.