May 27, 2020

Great Bend valedictorian: ‘Speech & debate has produced a lot of valedictorians’

Posted May 27, 2020 10:30 PM
Bayle Sandy was named the Class of 2020 valedictorian for Great Bend High School.
Bayle Sandy was named the Class of 2020 valedictorian for Great Bend High School.

By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post

When Bayle Sandy was in 8th grade, she had a teacher that told her the speech and debate program at the high school produces a lot of valedictorians.

Turns out, that teacher was spot on.

Sandy became heavily involved in the speech and debate at Great Bend High School throughout her four years and was named the Class of 2020 valedictorian. Owning the highest grade point average of the 216 graduating seniors this year was a goal Sandy wanted before she even walked the halls at GBHS.

"Becoming valedictorian was one of my major goals," said Sandy. "I knew coming into high school I already had a good GPA and I wanted to maintain that. By setting that goal of being valedictorian, it helped me take harder classes and challenge myself."

Bayle Sandy (right) pictured at a speech & debate tournament. Sandy will compete at the National Speech and Debate Association tournament in June.
Bayle Sandy (right) pictured at a speech & debate tournament. Sandy will compete at the National Speech and Debate Association tournament in June.

Sandy says one of the many things she missed from school buildings closed due to the coronavirus outbreak was being in the speech and debate classroom. Bayle says in that classroom, her classmates would communicate on what is going on in the world and spend countless hours practicing their speeches.

As for the speech she intends to give at the June 21 commencement, Sandy notes she will focus on an inspirational message.

"I am going to talk about what we have learned from this COVID-19 situation," said Sandy. "One of my quotes is 'we are compassionate, we are resilient, we are the class of 2020.' I am a positive person and that really shows in my speech."

Sandy received a four-year Rudd Scholarship that will cover all her tuition, fees, books, supplies and on-campus room and board in college. Only 30 students were chosen from the more than 1,300 that applied across the state. Sandy plans to attend Wichita State University to major in political science with hopes of eventually becoming a lawyer.

"All that hard work paid off in the end," Sandy added.

Listen to the entire Room 428 interview with Sandy that aired May 12 below...