North Tama High School Speech team members including (l-r) Hannah Borah, Emma Boldy, and Daniela Moraru pictured at State Speech on Saturday, March 12, at Grinnell High School. –Photo courtesy of Levi LaRue

Three area students have been nominated this year for Iowa High School Individual All-State Speech including North Tama senior Hannah Borah (Expository Address), and Union seniors Laura Rempe (Solo Musical) and Rebekah Dickerson (Acting).

This is the first All-State Speech performer nomination for North Tama since 2012.

North Tama had three individuals competing at State Speech on Saturday, March 12, in Grinnell – in addition to Borah, Emma Boldy and Daniela Moraru also competed. All three North Tama students earned a unanimous Division One rating and were eligible for All-State. In order to be considered for All-State, a student must be nominated by two judges.

North Tama High School’s Speech team is coached by teacher Levi LaRue, while Union High School’s team is coached by teacher Dean Bostian.

“Ecstatic, but not surprised at all with the results,” LaRue posted on Facebook following his students’ performances on March 12. “If you saw how hard these three worked to get to State Speech today, you wouldn’t be surprised either. Five events, each getting a unanimous Division One Rating. … I am beyond proud of their dedication and their abilities and how they have improved since we started back in November.”

Union High School Speech team members Rebekah Dickerson (left) and Laura Rempe (right) pictured on Tuesday, March 22, at Union High School in La Porte City. Both Dickerson and Rempe will perform at the Iowa High School Individual All-State Speech festival in Cedar Falls on Saturday, March 26. –Photo courtesy Laura Rempe

For Borah’s part, being nominated for All-State is the culmination of years of hard work and the fulfillment of an academic goal.

“A big part of me is still in shock about All-State,” Borah said. “I’ve been in Speech since my freshman year and All-State has been a huge goal for me ever since I went to watch it at [University of Northern Iowa] in 2019. Each year, I’ve worked hard on my pieces and put in hours of preparation just for this moment.”

At State Speech, Borah performed “Dry Cake Wishes and Tap Water Dreams” which she describes as “a passive- aggressive poem about ex-boyfriends who can’t handle strong women.”

Borah also performed “Cars in the CCU,” an expository address about the “strange world of the ‘Cars’ movies.”

Of the two pieces, “Cars in the CCU” was nominated for All-State.

“Out of all my extra-curricular activities, Speech has been and always will be my favorite,” Borah said. “Over the last four years, I’ve had so much fun and made so many memories that I will carry with me for a long time.”

Borah credited coach LaRue with being pivotal to her success in Speech.

“Mr. LaRue has been a huge source of support for me throughout high school and has been the best speech coach I could ask for,” Borah said. “Though I am sad this is my last year, I will think back on Speech as one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself. … I wouldn’t trade my time in it for anything.”

Union Speech team member Rempe performed the song “On My Own” from the musical Les Misérables at State Speech – a song of unrequited love.

“It feels unreal that I [was nominated for] All-State,” Rempe said. “It is my first year participating in Individual Speech and I am just so blessed that my hard work and love for singing paid off.”

Borah, Rempe, and Dickerson are each set to perform their pieces at All-State Festival on Saturday, March 26 in Cedar Falls on the University of Northern Iowa campus with Borah performing in Lang Hall Auditorium during Session II which begins at 11:30 a.m., Rempe performing in Ballroom B of Maucker Union also during Session II, and Dickerson performing in Bertha Martin Memorial Theatre, part of the Strayer-Wood Theatre building, during Session IV which begins at 3:00 p.m.