Cathedral encourages its students to have confidence in themselves and to reach far for their goals. Cathedral student Sophia Beeson ‘25 set forth her desires and put in the work to accomplish her goals in her speech and debate passion. Never missing opportunities to try something new, Beeson put fear aside and represented the best version of herself, while also learning throughout the process. 

Beeson has been a 4-H member since she was in first grade, competing in a mini 4-H. She started the “real” 4-H as a 3rd grader and by the time she graduates this year, she will be a 10-year member. 

She has participated in the communications project at her county fair 5 times. She recalls the first time she competed saying “I ran off stage during the first and barely made it through my speech in the latter.” Though her first competitions that she did in 4th and 6th, didn’t go as expected, she continued to persevere and ended up winning in Informative 4-H the summer before her sophomore year. In total, Beeson has won a total of 4 State Fair Championships in the past three years. 

In early July, Beeson placed Grand Champion in Demonstration and Public Speaking at the county fair, competing with the same speeches she used at the State Fair. This gave her an entry into the State Fair, which was certainly an amazing accomplishment as it led her to win the Title Champion in Public Speaking and Demonstration. Beeson placed as one of the three best demonstrators/speakers in the state of Indiana from her two communication projects that were dedicated to 4-H.  

All this hard work and dedication was rewarded when Beeson received a scholarship of $500 from both of her projects. She, as well as every 4-H’er who had an outstanding and significant accomplishment at the state fair, was invited to an award luncheon at the Indiana State Fair in September.

To Beeson, speech and debate is not only an incredible experience but it is also a platform from which she can share her ideas and experience new opportunities. 

Community plays an important role to Beeson. She says, “I love how supported and open-minded the community is. Without their encouragement, I would not have the confidence to participate in competitions such as 4-H Public Speaking and Demonstration. The activity has taken me out of my comfort zone and made me grow as a person.”

Beeson believes that speech and debate is the perfect opportunity to go out of the comfort zone and try something new. It helps many gain skills that can help them in the outside world. She says, “If anyone is even slightly considering joining the team, please do…”

Confidence isn’t always easy for Beeson, speech and debate taught her to conquer that fear and despite what others may think, it has taught Beeson to have a voice through which she can speak and accomplish many great things. Beeson’s voice taught her to express her ideas to others and be able to acknowledge that she deserves a voice. With a voice, Beeson has stepped forward and grown her leadership skills along with confidence.

This isn’t where Beeson stops, instead it pushes Beeson further beyond the imaginable. Beeson hopes to attend college and become either a physician or a clinical researcher. She says, “I have a passion for the life sciences and for chemistry and hope to do something with both.”