Palisade Senior, Ian Allen, is the male athlete of the week brought to you by Palisade Dino Mart. Allen is involved in many activities here at Palisade High School. He plays golf in the fall and is currently participating in DOGS and speech and debate. Having only started last year, Allen has experienced a significant amount of growth within speech and debate. “I knew some of the people that were doing speech and debate and I wanted to try it out,” said Allen. “I have wanted to try it out since freshman year, but didn’t really have the time. I have had a little bit more time last year and this year to give it a shot.” With the help of his peers, Allen has seen improvement over the last year. “The people who have been captains on the team have been really helpful pushing me through and helping me get better at debate and speech events.”

Having competed in golf during the fall, Allen has learned how to manage school and other activities. “Truthfully, speech and debate isn’t that hard to manage,” said Allen. “We have time after school to do our work. Communication is one of the most important things, such as being able to talk to teachers.” Allen puts forth the time and dedication in school and in speech and debate so that he can do what he loves. “I think it is so cool to be able to talk about things,” said Allen. “It is so fun, like when you get a topic you probably know nothing about, you just have 30 minutes to research and give a speech on it and act as though you are knowledgeable.” 

Over the last year, Allen has accomplished many things inside of speech and debate. “Placing first in exempt last year and this year was really cool, as well as being able to go to nationals,” said Allen. “Me and my PF partner, Keegan, have been able to place at every tournament this year, which is insane.” Other than his outstanding performance in speech and debate, Allen participates in other activities on his own time. “I really like playing golf on my own time and I participate in west

Lastly, advice Allen would give to an incoming speech and debate participant is: “Try everything. Speech and debate isn’t for everybody, but if you are interested in it then you are probably going to find something you really enjoy. Speech and debate is not nerdy. It seems nerdy, and we make jokes about it, but it really is fun.” Allen’s aspiration to put forth his best in speech and debate has demonstrated what a dedicated and diligent student he is in all he does. His excellent growth over the last year serves as an encouragement to his peers. Congratulations Ian Allen on athlete of the week!