The Palisade Paw Post is proud to present this week’s Male Athlete of the Week, Hank Walton provided to you by the Palisade Dino Mart. Walton is a freshman here at Palisade High School, and has already been showing his qualities on the speech and debate team.
This is Walton’s first year on a speech and debate team, and has been inspired to join by many aspects of the sport. “I joined speech and debate because it forces you to explore different viewpoints other than your own which I believe is very important in today’s world where people have become more and more comfortable with their beliefs without regularly challenging them.” Ever since joining speech and debate, Walton has used each round and every piece of feedback that he can get to make him a better debater and a stronger competitor. “My favorite thing about speech and debate is afterwards, when a round is over, and I’m walking back with my opponent and we’re able to talk about our round. I love getting to talk about what they think I can do better, as well as what I think they could do better. This all helps me to prepare for the next tournament.”
Walton is an inspiration to many people on the team, demonstrating the hard work and dedication that it takes to be a leader on the speech and debate team. When asked what he brings to the team Walton comments, “I think I’m a reliable team member. If one of my team members needs me to read over a case, I’d do it.” Walton has already accomplished a lot of achievements on the speech and debate team, and is growing stronger through each tournament. Walton also enjoys his time outside of school either biking or skiing, and when asked who his biggest inspiration is he states, “My biggest inspiration is Martin Luther King, because I really admire his ability to move groups of people.”
Keep working towards each goal in speech and debate, and keep using each challenge as a learning tool to make you a better debater. Congratulations to Hank Walton for receiving Athlete of the Week!
