BROWNWOOD –– HPU’s Student Speaker Bureau speech and debate team hosted six area high schools at their annual UIL Congressional Debate Workshop.
Rylie Burden, team captain, Guy D. Newman Honors Academy and social science jurisprudence major from Lubbock, led the workshop.
Burden was a four-time state competitor in UIL Congressional Debate and a two-time state finalist.
Dr. Julie Welker, professor of communication and chair of the Department of Communication, and coach of HPU’s speech and debate team, said that the workshop is a great way for area schools to learn more about the congress event and host prospective speech and debate students on campus.
“High school students who compete in speech and debate events like congressional debate are the cream of the crop,” said Dr. Welker. “Our speech and debate team loves getting to work with them and to help give them the tools they need to succeed at their competitions.”
Burden instructed the participants about all of the major areas of the event, including Robert’s Rules of Order, presiding officer rules and procedures, flowing, taglines, briefs, resources, writing bills and bill analysis, docket negotiations/politicking, clash, and presentation and personality.
“Helping high school students learn about the congressional debate event is one of my favorite parts of being on the HPU speech and debate team,” Burden said. “Competing in congressional debate has fundamentally impacted my success at the collegiate level, giving me the capacity to engage with diverse groups of people and advocate for causes that I hold close to my heart.”
HPU’s team hosted around 40 students and teachers at the workshop.
The team will host their next UIL workshop on Wednesday, October 28. This workshop will cover the UIL events of LD debate, CX debate, informative and persuasive speaking, prose and poetry, news writing, feature writing, editorial writing, headline writing, and copy editing.
“This is by far our largest workshop and fundraiser of the season. We invite schools to participate for great hands-on instruction and to learn more about each of the events to prepare for district meets,” said Welker.
Registration for the event is online at www.hputx.edu/uilworkshop.
HPU’s Student Speaker Bureau relies on donations to fund their program. To support HPU’s Student Speaker Bureau with funds to help with travel expenses and other related needs, please visit www.hputx.edu/give and select “Other” below the “Designation” heading. A space will
then be provided to type “Student Speaker Bureau,” and the donation form can then be completed accordingly.
High school students interested in pursuing their undergraduate education at HPU and competing on the team should contact Dr. Welker at jwelker@hputx.edu. All members of the team must audition and members receive a scholarship based on their previous speech and debate accomplishments.
Applications for admission to HPU for the spring 2026 semester are being accepted. Those interested in applying can contact the Office of Admissions at 325-649-8020 or enroll@hputx.edu or visit www.hputx.edu/apply.
