GFD Welcomes Cheryl Stanga to Georgia Debate!
georgiaforensics is proud to announce the new Debate Coach at Marist Schools, Cheryl Stanga. Cheryl worked with Marist this past year on a limited basis as an assistant coach, but is excited to start officially working at Marist.
Cheryl has been involved with Georgia debate for the past four years - three with Wheeler and one with Marist. While at Wheeler, she coached the 2007 GFCA Novice State Champions. This past season she helped Marist capture AAAA State Runner Up. I was able to sit down with Cheryl and get a couple questions answered. Enjoy the interview!
JM: Tell us a little about your background (high school debate career / college career)?
CS: I debated for Wayzata HS in Minnesota for three years. In college I debated for Emory University. I really wanted to just have fun in college debate, and I never got hung up on being super competitive.
JM: You just graduated from Emory. What was your major/concentration area?
CS: I graduated with a double BA in political science and women’s studies. I am looking to get a master’s degree in education in the next three years.
JM: You were an assistant coach at Marist this past season. How do you think your roles will change as you enter into a fulltime coaching position?
CS: Last year as an assistant coach at Marist I was splitting my time between college, friends, Marist and volunteering with the Atlanta Urban Debate League. This year I plan to make debate my top focus - there are a lot of changes going into effect this next year that will help our team be more efficient and effective. The team really came together to figure out what needed to be done - I couldn’t be more proud. I also hope to revive the Marist middle school debate team and our team will have mandatory volunteering in the middle school league. We are going to focus on giving back to the community and help develop a sustainable base for the future of our team. We also hope to bring on another assistant coach to help with research. Mrs. Mistretta will still be traveling often with the team.
JM: What are you most looking forward to?
CS: As weird as it sounds I am actually looking most forward to reorganizing and setting up the debate office at Marist. I am spending a week going through the backfiles and organizing all the piles of paper sitting around. I’m an organizational nut - I think it’s a necessary skill in debate. :-)
JM: Finally, if there were one thing you could change in Atlanta to be more like Minnesota, what would it be?
CS: Haha, great question. I think the one thing I miss most about Minnesota is the lake. In Minnesota I live on a lake and I miss the lakeshore and the beauty of summers on the lake. Lakes here just aren’t the same - there is something more beautiful and calming about a natural lake than the murky waters of a man-made lake with Georgia red clay for shores. Then again, there is that whole lack of college hockey thing. :-)
Editors Note: Kennesaw State has a ice hockey team - and they won a national championship last year. :-)
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Yay for Cheryl! Good luck with those kids! They all seemed nice when I met them.