Iowa High School Speech Association (IHSSA), a mouthful of a title for students who have a never ending fountain of words to share, but what does it really mean? Students of all kinds can either come together and compete in Large Group competition, or compete alone in Individual competitions. Everyone described IHSSA a little differently: “It’s like an off brand version of theatre”,”It’s competitive drama”, “it’s like speech and debate, but not?”, no one is 100 percent sure on how to describe IHSSA. Even director Virginia Johnson struggled with a definition.

“Ihssa is a competitive large group and individual speech and presentation program. Its learning how to present in groups, and solo pieces and them taking those to competition and being judged,” Johnson said.

For senior Courtney Young, she got her start freshman year after being asked to join by a friend. Since joining she has competed in Choral Reading, Short Film, Acting, Literary Program, Poetry and Musical Theatre.

“It was a little overwhelming at first, i thought it would be kinda boring but once i got into it i realized it was way more than that,” Young said.

You meet all kinds of people in IHSSA, people from different academic backgrounds, men, women, all grade levels. Everyone is there for one thing though, to do well.

“Everyone was accepting of a new person like me coming in and I couldn’t think them enough for that. I also want to say that I’m astounded at the talented people I get to work with,” Bennett said.

There are so many ways to succeed in IHSSA from scoring well at competitions to making it to All-State. Young was able to experience the highest award her sophomore year. She co-directed a short film which went to All-State, and then earned the Critics Choice which is the top award.

“The critic watched everything that day and then chose the short film as the best, most stand out piece, which was a huge honor,” Johnson said.

Because of the award Young then got to present the Critics Choice Banner at All-State the following year. There’s no doubt that IHSSA is an underrated event at East High School. While it may not get the recognition it deserves, the people who work so hard to make it happen are commendable.

“Everyone should join IHSSA and try it out see what it’s like because it really does help you open up as a person and you have fun,” Young said.

“You’re only in high school once, so give it a try. Try something that is different try something that makes you push yourself, and gets you involved in the school in a different way, in a positive way. In a way that makes you feel like you’ve learned something, and you’ve had fun,” Johnson said.