Kendall Campus Professor Selected As Speech And Debate Coach Of The Year
A month ago, Maria Mercedes Corredor won first-place in persuasive speaking at the Florida Intercollegiate Forensics Association state tournament.
When her name was announced, Corredor burst into tears with her Forensics Society advisor, William Murphy.
“It was very emotional,” said Corredor, who is graduating in April with her associate’s degree in biology. “To see him feel these things and live these things with me is just incredible. Not even my mom supports me this much.”
Murphy has been offering support to students on the forensics (speech and debate) team at Miami Dade College for the past 11 years. On Feb. 5, his dedication was recognized when he was selected as the Florida College System Activities Association Coach of the Year.
“It is very gratifying that my colleagues around the state chose to honor me,” Murphy said. “I am fully appreciative and [I] also understand that it’s much more about the student successes than it is about my successes.”
Murphy meets with his students twice a week at Kendall Campus. They practice speeches, read literature, argue ideas and current events and do exercises to remove extraneous speech patterns like “uh” and “um.”
Last month, the team received 21 awards—including four first-place honors—from the FCSAA and eight individual awards from FIFA.
Some of the categories included persuasive, improvisation and extemporaneous speaking.
In 1992, Murphy’s passion for speech and debate started as a student at Grand Junction High School in Colorado. He continued the activity at Colorado Mesa University while he worked toward his bachelor’s degree in English literature.
“I loved the activity, which is what took me into the field of communication studies,” said Murphy, who has a master’s degree in communication from the University of Colorado and a doctorate degree in human communication studies from the University of Denver. “I have always felt that I needed to give back to the activity that’s given a lot to me.”
At Kendall Campus, Murphy teaches introduction to communication and introduction to public speaking. From January of 2020 to January of 2022, he served as department chair for the English and Communications Department.
Before MDC, he worked as a journalist for four years at the I-70 Scout & Eastern Colorado News, a newspaper that covers seven farming communities on the eastern plains of Colorado.
“We are fortunate to have him as a coach,” said Salomon Jean, the club’s treasurer. “He is dedicated. His passion for teaching and his love for forensics really shows in his way of coaching.”
For more information about the society or to join, click here.
