Speech, speech! CCHS student earns 2nd straight national crown

Anthony Babu has gotten past his public speaking jitters.  

Looking at his winning streak — two national championships in extemporaneous speaking and a spot on the USA speech and debate team — one might think he was born a confident orator. 

Anthony, a rising senior at Acton-Carlisle High School, says he joined speech and debate as a freshman not because it was his strength, but because it was something he needed to work on. 

He’d struggled with confidence when speaking in front of his classmates. Participating in speech and debate changed all that. 

Surprisingly, “I just found myself enjoying public speaking,” he said. “So the more I did it, the more infatuated I became with it, and I just stuck with it.”

Having played the violin onstage helped Anthony hit his stride in front of crowds — a crucial element of his championship journey. 

That journey has included forming positive relationships with competitors. 

“I think my greatest takeaway has been just how important communities can be to personal growth,” Anthony said. “I came in thinking debate would be really cutthroat, but I found the opposite. Everyone supports each other. We want each other to succeed.”

‘Make this matter’

Extemporaneous speaking, Anthony’s format of choice, isn’t only about delivering a convincing speech. 

The format requires participants to draw a random topic, research it, and write and memorize a seven-minute speech — all within 30 minutes. Then, after delivering their speech, they face a cross-examination from a competitor. 

“The first thing I think about is: ‘How do I make this matter?’” Anthony said. 

His winning speech was about the Amazon rainforest. When he drew the topic, Anthony said he knew the key was to focus on its real-world effects.

“The thought that went through my head wasn’t necessarily about the Amazon itself, but rather about how this impacts broader swaths of people, be it through environmental issues from a broader scale or how it impacts indigenous communities,” he said. 

The speech won him his second national trophy. 

Struggles of success

When Anthony won his first national championship, he and his family weren’t quite sure how to get the trophy home from Des Moines, Iowa. 

The trophy — which is the length of Anthony’s torso — didn’t fit in their luggage. Anthony’s mother, Shannon, ended up shipping it home at a cost of $300. 

After this year’s national tournament, also in Des Moines, they brought the trophy onto the plane as a carry-on, and they received a warm welcome at the airport. 

“Everyone was so nice, asking questions, seeing what he had won,” Shannon Babu said.

Anthony wasn’t the only Acton student at the championship. Noah Arthur, coming off a Lincoln-Douglas debate title at the National Catholic Forensic League Grand Nationals in May, was one of just 98 competitors nationwide to qualify for the Big Questions format. 

Evan Moffitt and Micah Byron-Smarra represented CCHS in the World Schools Debate format on Team New England this year, too. 

When The Acton Bridge talked with Anthony, he was preparing for the World Schools Debating Championships in Panama, where he and the rest of Team USA were to compete on the national stage. That event runs through August 1.

A seasoned mentor 

Although the speech and debate program has produced a number of success stories, the team at CCHS was still new when Anthony joined. Five years ago, longtime speech and debate coach Tim Averill, who had led teams for decades at Manchester-Essex and at Waring School in Beverly, was approached by Acton parents at a tournament he was running. 

The parents wanted his help starting a program at CCHS. Averill was retired, but with his grandson about to enter the high school, he agreed.

Averill downplayed his role in the thriving program, instead extolling the students’ dedication and drive.

“I cannot claim their success is because of me,” he said. “Sure, I coordinated everything and got them started, but the parents’ help and the quality of students really set us up for success.”

Averill restarted his retirement after this year’s national win, but that doesn’t mean speech and debate is over at CCHS. For now, Shannon Babu is taking over while the school looks for another coach.

“We all have our own little mental wish list of who would be a great faculty adviser,” she said. “We’re just hoping the school finds someone who sees the value in what these kids are doing.”