Dodge City Kansas – Dodge CIty Public Schools
The Dodge City High School Forensics and Debate Team, coached by 1-Diamond coach Johnny Dunlap II, congratulates Katie Klecker for becoming the first student in DCHS history to achieve Premier Distinction within the National Speech and Debate Association’s Honor Society. Only 3% of students in the NSDA reach this milestone by the time they graduate high school. To earn this degree, a student must reach 1,500 points. They earn points, a handful at a time, by competing in Debate and Forensics tournaments. The road to 1,500 is a long grind of hundreds of hours Katie has spent preparing, practicing, and competing to hone her communication and leadership skills.
This distinction arrived on the heels of Katie’s other huge milestone when she became an NSDA Academic All-American. A feat less than 2% of NSDA members across the country achieve. To be an Academic All-American, a student must earn at least 750 NSDA Honor Society points and have an unweighted GPA of no less than 3.7 on a 4.0 scale.
This Forensics season, Katie has qualified for the KSHSAA State Championships in two events, Program of Oral Interpretation and Oral Interpretation of Poetry. She hopes to qualify in at least one other event. This stand-out student is also working toward qualifying for and returning to the National Individual Event Tournament of Champions this May. Later this spring, Katie will compete in an NSDA National Championships Regional Qualifier, which she hopes to qualify for and return to the NSDA National Championships in June.
After graduation this coming May, Katie will attend The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Hollywood with the help of a considerable scholarship she auditioned for and was offered in the Spring of 2024. Other honors Katie has earned include National Honor Society, President of the DCHS Drama Club for three years, President of the DCHS GSA for one year, DCHS Student Council, and numerous roles in DCHS plays and musicals, as well as other community productions in Dodge City, including Boothill Museum and the Depot Theatre Company.
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