SpeakFirst Team Members:
Myranda Bell
Class of 2019, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Myranda Bell, who prefers to be called “My”, is a senior at Ramsay High School. She really enjoys astronomy and philosophy and would like to go to Princeton University to study both. Her favorite quote is from a song called “Hiii Power” by Kendrick Lamar, which states, “While you guys are waiting, I be off the slave ships, Build your own Pyramids, write your own hieroglyphs.” Her biggest strength is knowledge which leads to her greatest accomplishment, which is finally knowing what she doesn’t know.
Evan Braxton
Class of 2019, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Evan Braxton is a senior at Ramsay High School. Evan enjoys playing basketball, working hard , and hanging out with friends. He likes to play basketball and learn about new, interesting things. His biggest strength is that he can think on his feet quickly, especially in situations where there is a lot of pressure. His favorite quote is from the movie “ATL” which is, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” This quote really taught him something to use throughout life. It taught him to treat people with respect no matter who they are. Evan is interested in attending Stanford University.
Aaron Burns
Class of 2019, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, AL
Aaron Burns is a senior at Ramsay High School. The only extracurricular he participates in is debate. Aaron’s nickname is “Ace.” The most memorable place he’s been to is Okinawa, Japan, where he lived when his dad, who’s in the Air Force, was stationed in Japan. Aaron likes to play video games and listen to different genre’s for fun. He is not currently interested in any particular college right now but would like to enter the field of law or marketing.
Kayla Caldwell
Class of 2019, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Kayla Caldwell is a senior at Ramsay High School. Kayla enjoys shopping, getting her hair and nails done, hanging out with friends, and trying new foods. Her favorite quote is from the First Lady Michelle Obama, “Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” Kayla’s proudest accomplishment is when she was accepted into the National Junior Honor Society. In addition, she participates in events at her church such as the choir, dance ministry, and assisting in children’s church. Kayla hopes to pursue a career of a neurosurgeon.
Savannah Dorsey
Class of 2019, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Savannah Dorsey is a senior at Ramsay High School. She likes to play volleyball, go shopping, go out with friends, and practice her Spanish speaking. My favorite quote is from the book To Kill A Mockingbird which was “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” Her biggest strength is math. She can easily solve equations, graph equations, and more with no struggle. Her proudest accomplishment is when she won valedictorian at the Wilkerson Middle School graduation. She would like to attend Auburn University and major in mathematics.
Darpha Carson
Class of 2020, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Darpha is a junior at Ramsay High School and enjoys a ton of musically related things. He enjoys creating his own personal remixes of songs that he has heard but has yet to find a way to actually make them public. Darpha also likes to write his own short stories and has been trying to write his own novel. His favourite artists are Pegboard Nerds, Slushii, Watsky, Marshmello, and generally every artist associated with Monstercat. Though he is highly influenced by music he is also very fascinated the science, tech, and mathematics. Darpha has been interested in both music and science since he was young. He has a dream to create his own company that does not focus solely on one field of study, rather combines multiple fields to create newer concepts of invention. Darpha’s biggest strength is that he can be very motivational when his friends need his help most. The one place he has always wanted to go to is Tokyo, Japan and the U.K., mainly because he is curious about how those two cultures are different from each other. Darpha’s favourite song lyrics are:
“Can’t bear a bear market with a bare body/ Rich heir—hot air choking errbody/ They swore you’d soar, check your sore body/ See the sweat pour from each pore of your poor body/ Someone wise once wrote ‘our world’s divided into two types of folk/ Now there’s the type of people who divide the world into different types of people/ And then there’s the type who don’t.'”
Ferrell Oden
Class of 2020, Shades Valley High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Ferrell Oden is a senior at Shades Valley High School. He is a saxophone player, enjoys bowling and debate. Ferrell’s favorite part of debate is the crossfire because it gives him the time to question the opponent’s flaws in their case. He plans on getting a PhD. in computer software engineering. He plans to attend college away from the south. His biggest strength is thinking on his feet. He hopes to travel to the United Kingdom.
Gabrielle Frazier
Class of 2020, Jefferson County International Baccalaureate School, Birmingham, Alabama
Gabrielle Frazier is a junior at Jefferson County IB school. Gabrielle likes to be called “Gabby” or anything along those lines. Gabrielle loves to draw cartoon characters and write fan-fictions in her free time. Gabrielle also likes to play video games for fun. One thing that Gabrielle likes about debate is the rebuttal because it gives you a chance to attack your opponent without any interruptions.Gabrielle’s favorite quote from Iris, a song by the Goo Goo Dolls is, “Yeah, you bleed just to know you’re alive.” This quote reminds Gabrielle that whenever she feels like she’s invisible, she’s not and that she has a voice. Gabrielle wants to attend University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning to major in Architecture, or NYU Studio Arts BFA Program.
Key’Airra Goldsmith
Class of 2020, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Key’Airra Goldsmith is a junior at Ramsay High School. She wants to attend the University of California-LA and study psychology and journalism. Her favorite quote is “You can’t have a rainbow without a little rain.” For fun she writes books and makes YouTube videos. One of her proudest accomplishments was being the valedictorian of her 8th grade class. She also loves to cook, sing, and dance. Key’Airra was a part of Lovely and S.W.E.E.T., a mentoring group that doubles as a step group. Her favorite artists are Adele, Ed Sheeran, and Sam Smith. Her idol is Temperance Brennan from her favorite TV show Bones.
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Jai Carter
Class of 2021, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Jai Carter is a sophomore at Ramsay High School. Jai is a studious, well-rounded student. In her free time, she likes to watch movies, listen to music, and hang out with friends. Spending time with family is also something she enjoys because it makes her very happy. One of Jai’s favorite movies is Little Miss Sunshine because of the joy and comedy displayed in the film. Jai’s favorite quote is, “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today”. This is her favorite quote because she likes to live life as it comes and any struggles she has will be overcome as they happen. Jai wants to attend Texas A&M University and get her doctoral degree. She plans to be a woman and child therapist.
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Marry De Austria
Class of 2021, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Marry De Austria attends Ramsay High School. She started debating while in the 8th grade at Smith Middle School through the SpeakFirst Middle School debate program. Debate is one of her greatest passions which is why she’s chosen it as her main extracurricular activity. Besides debate, Marry proclaims literature to be her greatest love and hobby because she finds it both stimulating and relaxing. Her favorite quote is “I am homesick for a place that I am not sure even exists.” She plans to attend UAB as an undergrad and hopes to attend medical school. She aspires to be a Clinical Nurse Specialist. Her future aspirations are to be successful, happy, prosperous, and lucky.
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Michael Greene
Class of 2021, Banks Academy, Birmingham, Alabama
Michael Greene is a sophomore at Banks Academy. He started debating in the 8th grade at Huffman Middle School with the SpeakFirst Middle School debate program. In his free time, Michael likes to cook, read, and write stories. His favorite thing to cook is fried chicken and his favorite genre of book is fantasy. Michael has an eclectic taste in music and prefers to listen to old-school hip-hop, pop, and R&B. He is excited to be on the SpeakFirst debate team and looks forward to all the fun he will have. He hopes to one day attend UC Berkeley or UCLA in sunny California and major in Psychology. His dream career is to be a psychiatrist because he likes to help people with the problems they face.
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Aimee Howard
Class of 2021, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Aimee Howard is a sophomore at Ramsay High School. This is her second year debating and she is thankful for the great opportunity and exposure. In middle school, she was a part of the A-honor roll and was president of Junior Beta Club. She is now the chaplain of FBLA, secretary of the youth department at church, and head of a dance ministry, all while maintaining solid academic performance. In her free time, Aimee likes to dance, listen to music, and research current topics. Aimee’s favorite quote is “A successful woman is one who can build a firm foundation with bricks others have thrown at her”. This quote inspires her to not let the world tear her down but instead use it as motivation to achieve her goals. She plans to attend Howard University in Washington D.C. and major in Engineering with a minor in Political Science. Her ultimate goal is to go to law school, however, a career in industrial engineering is her second plan. If plan A works out, Aimee will pursue a career practicing Civil Law.
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Leah Nelson
Class of 2021, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Leah Nelson is in the tenth grade and currently attends Ramsay High School. She originally started debating in the sixth grade and debated with the SpeakFirst middle school program for three years. As far as extracurriculars go, she is currently in the engineering program, and her hobbies include swimming, acting, reading, and write her own little stories. She hopes to shadow a lawyer during her high school career to learn more about the profession. Her favorite quote is “the expert at anything was once a beginner”; this quote explains how we all have to start somewhere to become great. She would like to attend Auburn University and concentrate on pre-law studies. Leah’s ultimate career goal is to become a lawyer.
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Mackenzie Williams
Class of 2021, Ramsay High School, Birmingham, Alabama
Mackenzie Williams, A.K.A. Kenzie, is a sophomore at Ramsay High School. She previously debated for Phillips Academy with the SpeakFirst middle school team and is currently a teen court volunteer. Mackenzie enjoys writing, reading, drawing, and listening to music. Her hobbies include debate, teen court, and spending time with family and friends. For the rest of her high school career, she aspires to maintain a high GPA, participate in more extracurriculars– such as choir– and be inducted into National Junior Honors society (NJHS). As far as college is concerned, she hopes to attend either the University of Pennsylvania or the University of Alabama. Her favorite quote is “Sometimes life is about risking everything for a dream no one can see but you” because it reminds her that people aren’t always 100% sure of exactly what they want to do with their lives and if they have an aspiration that seems out of reach, they can achieve it with focus and determination.
