Tina Wisniewski, a 12th grader at North Allegheny Senior High School and recipient of an all-state award for speech and debate, doesn't let obstacles get in her way.

Despite a genetic disease she's been battling since birth, Wisniewski has received multiple recognitions in forensics, including being one of only two students to receive the all-state award from the National Speech and Debate Association for Pennsylvania.

The award is presented to the top overall point earners in each state, with no more than 25% of the points coming from service. To qualify for the award, a student must have competed at the national level at least once. She earned the most NSDA points in the entire state.

Wisniewski, who is president of the North Allegheny Speech and Debate team, is deserving of her successes, said coach Dominic Moore.

"She's incredibly hard-working, spends countless hours teaching younger students, and consistently performs at a high level against local and national competition," he said.

The Marshall resident has participated in nationals twice, placing 17th out of 280 entries in 2023 and 25th out of 276 in 2024, and represented her school's speech and debate team in more than 50 state and national competitions.

She is ranked as the highest achiever out of 2,483 students who participate in speech and debate for Pennsylvania.

Wisniewski suffers from multiple hereditary exostoses, a genetic disease she's had since childhood that causes hundreds of benign bone tumors. She had to miss 60 days of high school alone and has gone through eight surgeries.

Instead of being an obstacle, the health challenges drove her to work harder.

"It's really hard to focus when you're in a lot of pain, but you get used to it," she said. "My disability has given me a different perspective of what success means."

Wisniewski has competed in Lincoln-Douglas, or one-on-one, debates for the past six years, also coaching middle-school debate students.

Mom Darlene said her daughter trains much like an athlete would, getting up before dawn on Saturdays ahead of hours of debating.

"It's a lot of hard work. (But) it's really worth it," she said.

Advocacy efforts

This experience led her to co-found the Pennsylvania Inclusion and Resources support group, a student-led organization that fights for equity in the state's forensics. She and another student, Sewickley Academy senior Hallie Dong, created the group in 2023 after noticing some equity concerns while debating.

At a national competition in Arizona, a judge remarked that Wisniewski's suit looked "too sporty," causing her to suffer a loss for the event, something she felt wouldn't be an issue for her male counterparts.

Wisniewski also said girls are more likely to be called aggressive during debates because of the tone in their voices.

In addition to gender inequalities, PAIR advocates are working to make debate content more mindful. At one competition, Wisniewski was in a wheelchair after an ankle surgery, and the topic given to her for debate was to argue for athletes to get higher admission to colleges.

She said it was an awkward topic for someone with an obvious physical disability at the time.

Through PAIR, she and Dong are working at making the field of speech and debate more balanced for all participants.

The group supports underresourced and underprivileged debate teams throughout Pittsburgh and the state by community advocacy, testimonials, resource funding and policy change within the Pennsylvania High School Speech League. PAIR also helps provide homeschooled students with access to speech and debate competitions.

The student-led organization has a growing online community through WhatsApp and Instagram, where followers can interact on equity issues, current events and more. PAIR's Google website also provides brochures and pamphlets on speech and debate and equity, as well as information on competition and the state speech league.

Trying new ideas

For the past few years, one of the PHSSL board members has met with interested students, including Wisniewski, to discuss what is good about the organization and what can be improved, according to executive director Sharon Volpe, who teaches at North Allegheny Senior High School.

"Pennsylvania is one of the most progressive states in the country when it comes to trying new ideas, so it was wonderful to watch as the coaches voted to pass much of what the students want to try," Volpe said.

The board will meet in the summer to discuss what worked and what didn't, said Volpe, a former coach of the NA Speech and Debate team.

Moore, a technical education teacher at the high school, said he's privileged to work not only with Wisniewski but the entire team.

"NA speech debate was ranked 27th in the nation for the 2023-24 school year, and that honor is thanks to the 138 members of the NA Speech and Debate and the time they devote to preparing speeches, learning about world and domestic issues, and practicing their skills," Moore said.

The team is a full-year commitment, with practices kicking off in September and running through June, according to Moore. The team holds two-hour practices three days a week, and many students work on their pieces outside of practice.

NA Speech and Debate students will compete at 23 local, state and national tournaments this year, including nearly every Saturday from November through March.

Wisniewski said Moore has done a lot for the team.

"He's just a really good coach. He really knows how to prepare us for our debate rounds."