Lower Columbia College student Ayesha Ahmed of Cathlamet has been named to the Northwest Forensics Conference's (NFC) Division III All-Conference Team for her success on the Fighting Smelt Speech and Debate Team during the 2018-2019 season.

Ayesha Ahmed

This prestigious list of seven students represents the top competitors from community colleges in speech and debate competition. The award is calculated based on students' success across all competition categories at three designated tournaments over the course of the season.

Ahmed placed in final rounds in three different categories and at all three designated tournaments. She placed 2nd out of 47 entries in novice IPDA debate at the Steve Hunt Classic (Lewis & Clark College) to begin the season. Ahmed then placed 2nd in novice Persuasive speaking at the Mahaffey Forensics Tournament (Linfield College). She ended the conference season by placing 6th in novice Extemporaneous speaking at the Viking Invitational (Western Washington University).

The other six students named to the NFC D3 All Conference Team are Bryce Funkhauser, Alex Watt, Josh Young, Tim Cornell, Robert Herold, and Sarah Darby (all from College of Western Idaho).

Ahmed will return next year for her second year at LCC, when she will attempt to build on her success from this past season. The Lower Columbia College Fighting Smelt Speech & Debate Team will begin the 2019-20 competition season at the Fran Tanner Open tournament hosted by the College of Southern Idaho on September 27-28.


For more information, please contact Alex Brehm, Director of Forensics/Communication Studies Instructor at (360) 442-2670 or abrehm@lowercolumbia.edu. Learn more about the Fighting Smelt Speech & Debate Team.