Students prep for nationals through unusual bootcamp

While many teens are enjoying their summer vacation, a few Wichita East students invest their time in an unusual bootcamp… in their teacher’s home. Eyewitness News reporter Annette Lawless gives us an exclusive behind-the-scenes look.

“This brings me to my first point of analysis,” says one student prepping his speech.

Welcome to debate bootcamp!

“Bootcamp is a loving term. It’s not a negative term,” says Vickie Fellers, coach of Wichita East debate and forensics team.

For two weeks before the tournament, the team practices from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day preparing for competition. “It is sort of sad to hear your friends talk about the start of summer, but we just have to hang in there,” says Jonathan Lewallen, a senior competing in foreign extemporaneous speaking. This is his third year in national competition.

Sure, it’s a lot of hard work, but it can be a lot of fun.

And for 10 Wichita East students—plus one coach—they hope it pays off.

“You always walk in knowing if you’ve done the work, then it just takes that little bit of luck, your students can be on the main stage receiving awards,” Fellers says.

Wichita East qualified 10 of 30 spots in district competition this year, making them one of the largest teams from a single school.

These students are among thousands that will attend the national tournament. About 200 come from Kansas. And for a few, it’s not their first time.

“We have a couple students who have qualified both their sophomore, junior and now senior years,” Fellers says.

One of those students includes Evan Hernandez, who won one event at the national tournament last year. This week, he’ll compete in persuasive speech.

“Mistakes are always made,” Hernandez says. “Execution in each round is so crucial. If you do one thing wrong, it can affect the entire outcome of the round.”

So what’s his take on this year’s competition?

“My attitude towards it nowadays is that I’d like to do well, but I’m not going to beat myself up about it if I do poorly,” Hernandez says.

Though he may face struggles, “I’ll be happy with how my four years went, regardless of what happens next week.”

And remain a champion.