Sometimes chance meetings can create great things. That is exactly how Ashley Paskill and Annamaria Beatty decided to create Temple’s Speech Writer’s Club. “I actually met Annamaria Beatty in the computer lab in Anderson. She struck up a conversation and we got into this conversation about making this club,” said Ashley Paskill, Vice President. Paskill said that they are now in the process of getting the club approved by student activities.
Annamaria Beatty, President of Temple’s Speech Writer’s Club, thought of the idea after finding the Georgetown Speech Writer’s Club at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. “I reached out to them and they were kind enough to reach back and offer help,” said Beatty. According to Beatty, Georgetown Speech Writer’s Club is the first of its kind in the country, and Temple hopes to be the second. Beatty was awarded a full scholarship to attend the only Speech Writing School in the country by the Georgetown Speech Writer’s Club’s advisor, Dr. David Murray and his business partner, Benjamin Knight. The Speech Writing School is a one day event at Georgetown University. “I wanted to share what I learned and help my fellow students in a way I didn’t currently see, in other on campus clubs,” said Beatty.
Beatty then reached out to Dr. Lance Holbert, who became Temple’s Speech Writer’s Club’s advisor. Beatty said that he has been a great source of encouragement. Beatty hopes that the organization will be approved in a month. “Our hope is that within a month, we’ll be up and running, ready to bring presenters to the student body to learn advanced speech writing and presentation skills like the ones I experienced in The Speech Writing School, in D.C.,” said Beatty.
Both Beatty and Paskill hope that this organization can be a great supplement to the learning that goes on in the classroom. Their goal is to lessen the gap between the classroom and the professional world by bringing in speakers and helping students to better their writing skills in the process. “We wanted to start this club to help students gain professional experience. We hope students can become better speakers since every field has some aspect of speaking needed,” said Paskill.
Beatty hopes to collaborate with other organizations such as Toastmasters, Rhetoric and Advocacy and the Political Research Group. “I am excited to bring important skills to the student body!” said Paskill. Right now, the organization is made up of six officers and they plan to accept students of any major.