For the first time since 2008 Permian high school is proudly sending a student to state for congress debate. Six years ago the last student to go to state for Permian made it all the way to nationals.
Students and teachers alike are hoping for the same outcome this year as Senior Cassandra Gonzalez travels to Austin, Texas to represent the Permian.
The competition will take place January 12-14 and Gonzalez couldn’t be more excited.
“I’m very excited to compete in state,” Gonzalez said, “I think it’ll be difficult, but it’ll be fun at the same time, being able to do that. I honestly have a lot of fun doing student congress.”
Cassandra considers it to be a major privilege to be able to go to state, however it hasn’t always been fun and games. Achieving this feat has taken hours of hard work and dedication.
“It’s taken a few class periods and a couple of hours after school writing and practicing my speeches, but I would say that all the hard work was worth it.” Gonzalez said.
She owes much of the credit of her success to her teacher.
“(Teresa) Carrasco has done a really great job in coaching all of us to get us as far as we have come during competition,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez thinks that her experiences with student congress will ultimately help her for years to come.
“I think this experience will benefit my future,” Gonzalez said.
She feels that it already has improved skills that she didn’t have before joining.
“It helped me get over my fears of speaking in front of others.” Gonzalez said.