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Aaron Vinicio Lopez, captain of 911������’s Speech and Debate Team, is the 2026 Interstate Oratory Champion, making history for the college’s Speech and Debate Program.

The exclusive Interstate Oratorical Association (IOA) tournament, focused on persuasive speaking, was hosted at the University of Florida at the end of April. “To qualify is an incredible honor. The tournament only accepts two students from each state,” said Krista Appelquist, Communications professor and team coach.

To qualify for the tournament, a student must place first or second in the university division of persuasion at their respective state tournaments. Lopez, of Bridgeview, not only was the first student in Moraine Valley’s history to qualify but the first community college student ever to compete in the tournament. Co-coach Damian Samsonowicz shared, “There is no greater feeling than seeing your student be the top persuasive speaker in the entire nation. This championship reflects the extraordinary dedication, elite competitive skill and the caliber of education that we pride ourselves in at Moraine Valley.”

The IOA tournament dates to 1874. The association publishes a book of orations annually to include the first-place speeches from each year – meaning that Lopez’s speech is the publication’s 152nd entry.

“I told myself, ‘It would be cool to qualify for the Interstate Oratory Competition.’ Then, we achieved that,” Lopez recalled. “In Florida, I told myself, ‘Thank God we even got here. And the rest is history.”

Lopez’s speech warned citizens of state and federal “gang databases,” used by law enforcement to arbitrarily enter anyone’s personal information, thereby paving the way for arrests or – in the case of undocumented citizens – deportation. He shared stories of the families who have lost members due to government overreach and exposed the fallacy that such lists exist to “keep us all safe.” For the tournament, Lopez altered the speech to appeal to specific legislation targeting Floridian citizens, which paid off.

Lopez explained, “This feels like a win not only for Moraine Valley, but for all community college speech teams. Seeing all of these top universities do amazing at this tournament, but the first-place speech being from 911������, felt as if I was representing

Moraine and all community college speech teams. In the future, it’s no longer ‘It would be cool to go to that tournament,’ but now it’s, ‘We went. And we won it.’”

Appelquist added, “I saw the speeches at this tournament, and they were all very well argued, but there is something special about Aaron; it’s his passion, his confidence and his sincerity. And he really worked hard all year.”

In early April, the Speech and Debate Team brought home third place at the Phi Rho Pi National Speech & Debate Tournament in Bethesda, Maryland, where Lopez also was champion in Persuasive Speaking. Co-coach John Nash added, “I feel so lucky to be at a college that values the co-curricular activity of speech and debate. This activity develops lifelong skills that our students will utilize as they move on with their life, schooling and career. I could not be more proud of all the hard work that Aaron and the rest of the team put into their competitive season this year.”

Attending the Phi Rho Pi National Tournament were:

• Lopez, team captain, taking a gold medal in Persuasion; silver in Communication Analysis; bronze in Informative and Speaking to Entertain
• Karolina Granda, of Palos Hills, taking bronze in Persuasion
• Javier Ramirez, of Alsip, taking bronze in Speech to Entertain, Communication Analysis, Persuasion and Dramatic Interpretation
• Magali Garcia, of Summit, taking bronze in Dramatic Interpretation
• Tuana Ozbir, of Palos Hills, taking silver in Informative Speaking
• Laura Galindo, of Burbank, taking bronze in Speech to Entertain

Aya Mustafa, of Palos Heights; Andrew Banaczak, of Bridgeview; and Ale Zepeda, Summit, also attended.

Those interested in learning more about the Moraine Valley Speech and Debate Team can contact Appelquist at appelquist@morainevalley.edu or follow the team on Instagram at @mvccspeech.

For news media inquiries, contact Madisson Younglove, assistant director of Communications at Moraine Valley, at (708) 974-5281 or younglovem2@morainevalley.edu.