STOCK FARM, ROSEAU, March 28, 2022- Today, Shawnalee Gordon and Hananel Valerie represented the Dominica State College and Dominica at the semi-finals of the 5th Annual Windward Islands Debating Competition and were victorious. They debated the topic “The shift to virtual learning during the pandemic exposed regional governments’ failure to successfully integrate ICT into our education systems.” Their success moves Dominica State College to the final round tomorrow, April 29th, 2022, where they will compete against St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College on the topic “The shift to virtual learning during the pandemic exposed regional governments’ failure to successfully integrate ICT into our education systems.”

Commenting on the debating experience Shawnalee Gordon said:

“This was an experience like no other. I was nervous, but I became more comfortable as I went further into it. The rebuttal especially was nerve-wracking as you have to improvise in certain areas and ensure to counter their points well. However, all in all, it was a great experience, and I must thank; first God, Miss Christian, the other members of my team, Hananel, Noah, and Samine. I also want to thank Tarrie, she was my mentor and, of course, my parents and sister and all my other family and friends.”

Reacting to winning the competition and emerging as the best speaker, Hananel Valerie said:

“Today was really remarkable. It was my second official debate, so I wasn’t that nervous. However, that speech actually took a lot of work, so I really wanted to present it well. I found our delivery was pretty good, wouldn’t change much there, and I believe we gave ourselves the best chance, regardless of whatever the outcome would be. I’m elated we won and honestly happy that I got the best speaker.”

Results:
Dominica State College- 609 points
Grenada (T.A Marryshow Community College)- 603 points
Best Speaker: Hananel Valerie (DSC)

Tomorrow, Noah James and Samine Darroux will represent the Dominica State College and Dominica in the finals at 9:00 am. 

The College congratulates the students for a job well done and expresses gratitude to their coach Ms. Trudy Christian for her dedicated service to the students. The institution also expresses gratitude to the Ministry of Education, Jays Bookstore Ltd., GEMS Holdings Ltd, and the National Bank of Dominica for sponsoring the team.