- And they say that it is the best hanging tree in the south, because no matter how hard a black woman, man, or child kicks, the branches they will not break.

They were taking Toby to the oak tree?

They were taking my son to the oak tree.

And so I ran until I got to the tree.

- All about communication.

That's what this segment's about.

We have Michaela White, National Catholic Forensic League, Grand National Tournament Speech Champion.

Congratulations, Michaela.

And also your coach.

This is Saul Grullon.

- Yes.

- That's not even, did I say it correctly?

Go ahead.

Correct me.

- Grullon.

- That's what I said.

University High School Speech and Debate District Coach of the Year.

Congratulations to both of you.

By the way, this is part of our Newark Student Leaders of Tomorrow series we're doing in cooperation with the Newark Public Schools.

Saul, tell us about Michaela and how great a communicator she is to be recognized in this way.

Go ahead.

As her coach.

- Absolutely.

So at the very start, Michaela was very shy and I thought that she had to go with like a novice category, but she was very adamant to just showing off that she's a phenomenal communicator and that she is one of the best people in her school and in the district to tell stories that matter.

- Michaela, let me ask you something.

You just heard your coach say you're a little bit shy in the beginning.

Do you remember that version of Michaela versus the strong, confident Michaela now?

- I actually really do.

I remember being afraid to speak out a lot.

I remember being afraid to show who my inner, like dramatic self, like who I was and stuff.

But comparing myself from now to my shy self, I can say I do remember a portion of her, but honestly the person I am now kind of just overpowers that thought now.

- And you are attending my alma mater, Montclair State University in the fall as we do this program in the summer.

- Congratulations.

Hey, so lemme ask you something.

Speaking of getting past one's whatever, anxiety, fear, nerves, is it not a fact that you as a younger man were in our Stand and Deliver public communication leadership series?

The seminar series, were you a part of that?

- Yes, I was.

I was before the pandemic struck us, and my students were two scholars that actually won the scholarship from Stand and Deliver.

So it's good to be back and reunite with you.

- So yeah, our Stand and Deliver program run by our great colleague, my partner, Mary Gamba, who led that program for many, many years.

It was all about public communication of young people, particularly in Newark.

Michaela, let me ask you something.

What do you believe being recognized in this way as this Grand National Tournament Speech Champion, what do you believe it does for you as you move into your college life to be the kind of leader you want to be moving forward?

Talk about that.

- It definitely helped me with future references, like, you know, such as communication, speaking out more, having a voice, and knowing how important it is to have a voice in the future.

And actually now in the present, it is very important and I feel as though this is just a crucial and very important event, very important skill.

And I think it is very beneficial for future references.

- Yeah.

So let me ask you this, your background coming into this field of work, talk about public communication and the challenges you faced.

- So being a native from the Dominican Republic and being here in this country since I was two years old, I did have a thick accent.

And my linguistics in writing and speaking was very easy to detect.

So in the speech and debate community, I was able to rule myself in confidence and learn how to enunciate, pronunciate, and use great diction and have amazing eye contact, have the presence that honestly we all have.

You know, we just need someone to coach us, to find that better version of ourselves.

So ironically enough, my speech and debate coach was able to absolve me of my insecurities as a Hispanic person that had a thick accent.

And you know, nowadays I try to find it, but it's lost somewhere.

- You lost it?

- I kinda think so.

- It's there.

- It's there?

Okay, great.

- It's gotta be there.

Michaela, let me ask you something.

As you listen to your coach, how important is it for you and for others who choose to challenge themselves in public communication, debate, forensics.

How important is it to have a coach who's not just talented because he or she knows skills, but they believe in you as a person?

Go ahead.

- It kind of gets me emotional sometimes thinking about how important it is because as someone who couldn't speak out, sometimes it felt like I always had a muzzle on my mouth.

So when I had somebody who believed in me, when I had somebody who seen the voice in me, it kind of just makes me feel seen and makes me feel heard.

Especially people who are like me, like, as being a young Black woman who can't really speak out sometimes, having someone on your side and someone that can motivate you and tell you that you are important and you have a voice was just so important to me.

And I also wanna bring that out to every other Black woman who is out there in the world, that you have a voice and you can speak out and you are very important.

So honestly, I'm just, it's very important.

- I hate when people say you're too young.

They don't say it to me, but I'll say it to you.

You're too young to possibly remember the great Jesse Jackson, when he was running for president back in 1988, did you know what his message was to young people, particularly people of color?

- He used to say, "I am somebody."

Repeat after me, "I am somebody."

- What's that mean to you?

- It means that you are heard, that you are somebody who is important and you are a human being.

And it means that you can literally change the world in literally a heartbeat.

It can take a week, two months, it can take however long God can make it be.

You can literally change the world just by using your voice.

- Yeah.

Hey Saul, I bet on Michaela.

I'm gonna bet on Michaela that she is gonna change the world and make a difference.

And to you and all the other coaches, and to Roger León, the superintendent, and all the other folks at the Newark Public School system who advocated that we do this programming.

We'll continue to feature Newark student leaders of tomorrow.

Thank you, Saul.

Thank you, Michaela.

Wish you all the best.

- Thank you.

- We'll be back after this.

- [Narrator] Think Tank with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

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