Tri-County Technical College Criminal Justice major Samantha Crowl, of Central, left, placed first in the Persuasive Speaking Category at the 2014 South Carolina Speech and Theater Association’s Annual College Festival Competition. Tri-County was represented by two students in the competition, Crowl and Nikki Giba, a freshman university transfer major, also from Central.

UPSTATE — A Tri-County Technical College sophomore placed first in the Persuasive Speaking Category at the 2014 South Carolina Speech and Theater Association’s Annual College Festival Competition.

Criminal Justice major Samantha Crowl, of Central, took the highest honors, placing first in the Persuasive Speaking category out of the 10 S.C. colleges participating in the event held at Newbery College.

Tri-County Technical College was represented by two students in the competition, Crowl and Nikki Giba, a freshman university transfer major, also from Central.

“We have been taking teams to this competition for the last sixteen years.  This is a great opportunity for students to develop important communications skills and do it in a competitive environment,” said Coach Greg Toney, who is a speech instructor at Tri-County. “Everyone worked hard and was deserving of success,” he added.

“My goal is to go to these competitions and be competitive,” said Toney. “It’s a challenge to compete every year against schools such as Newberry, Limestone and USC Upstate that actually have four-year programs in drama and speech. However, we always have success and this year it was no different as we dominated the category that we participated in,” he said.

“Communication skills are one of the most important skills someone can take into the workplace today,” said Toney. “Competing in this annual speech and drama festival allows students to sharpen those skills, as well represent their school while competing against other colleges from around the state.”

Limestone College took first place overall honors as this year’s Sweepstakes Winner for the second year in a row. Amanda Williams, from Newberry College won the overall individual award. Colleges participating in this year’s event included Tri-County Technical College, USC Upstate, Newberry College, Lander University, Claflin University, Erskine College, Limestone College, Midlands Technical College, USC Lancaster and Greenville Technical College.

The South Carolina Speech and Theatre Association is a professional organization that promotes the study of all areas of performance and oral communication: acting, oral interpretation/performance studies, theatre, broadcasting, public speaking, discussion and debate, and speech education. Its main purpose is the advancement of the total speech and theatre effort in the educational system of the state of South Carolina. SCSTA serves both the public and private schools and the colleges and universities in South Carolina through an annual Conference and spring festival competitions in the Communication Arts, and through recognition of outstanding contributors to our efforts. Membership is open to all persons interested in performance and other areas of oral communication and should be of special interest to persons teaching speech and drama courses at all levels.

The 2015 SCSTA College Festival Competition will be held Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, at Newberry College.