The cheerful, confident voice of a high school senior is a familiar sound around campus. Whether she is on Microsoft Teams making the morning announcements or in front of the student body on the football field as a homecoming chair, her voice commands the attention of all those who listen, saying “Hi, my name is Sophie Grace Posick…”

The beginning of Posick’s passion for vocal performance specifically started with an interest in an announcement she read during her freshman year. “I got involved with speech and debate through involvement with the national Shakespeare Competition all because I saw something in the announcements one day and I’m like, oh that sounds kind of cool. I’ll go attend the informational meeting. And here I am now, four years later, helping lead speech and debate and in these tournaments.”

This past summer, Posick participated in student congress, which is what she believes is one of the highlights of her speech and debate career.

Hosted at the University of Florida this year, the Summer Debate Institute organized by Incubate Debate invited around forty five high school students from all across Florida to partake in a ten day debate intensive. “It was more debate than I had ever done to that point by far,” Posick stated. “But I found that I really enjoyed the work that went into it, having to write a speech in an hour about a topic I knew nothing about. I really enjoyed being able to just get into it with people who had a common interest.”

After days of intense debate and speech preparation, the tenth day of the program concluded with a five round tournament, which Posick humbly added that she ended up winning. “That was a lot of fun too,” she admitted.

But the fluidity with which Posick often presents herself does not come easy. “I doubt that there is anybody in this world, no matter how confident or experienced they are, that does not get nervous before you get up and speak. It [public speaking] has always been something that I love because it’s kind of that rush of getting up there and being able to present myself and any skills that I have such as debate or performance and kind of share a piece of who I am with the people that I am talking to.”

Posick finds the most joy in sharing her voice with her family and at church. “My youth group at church, we have a youth band that I help lead with organizing, the members and the music and also singing. Music and family and church are definitely things that I take heart in.” Public speaking is something Posick hopes to continue in college and beyond. She is currently interested in pursuing law: an outlet she believes will allow her to continue to develop her persuasive speaking skills.

As the San Jose Campus Bolles community makes it way throughout the school year, changes in temperature, semesters, seasons, and more will occur. But, Sophie Grace Posick’s voice of passion endures.

Her advice to her fellow Bolles classmates, whether they are lifers or new students who might be apprehensive about getting involved, is simple. “If you’re interested in something, go for it.” Posick stated. “You never know until you try.”