WK Kay: Building Community Through Speech and Debate

Berkeley Carroll Speech and Debate Teacher and Program Coordinator WK Kay is making an impact both at BC and on the national stage. Recently elected as New York City District Committee Chair for the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA), WK is serving a two-year term supporting schools and students across the city.

As District Chair, WK helps organize the NYC qualifying tournament for the National Championship, recruits and supports member schools, and advocates for speech and debate education. They’re especially passionate about expanding access to the activity in public and Title I schools, noting that “we have already brought in eight new schools in this category; representing 15% year-over-year growth and significantly expanding the impact of the activity in NYC.”

In addition to this role, WK also serves as co-chair of the NSDA’s LGBTQIA+ Coaches’ Caucus, a national group that uplifts and supports queer coaches and students. Under their leadership, the caucus has advanced inclusive policies and visibility at major tournaments. “I’m most proud of the interpersonal work of the caucus,” WK shared, “providing an affinity space where queer coaches can support one another and develop best practices to support our queer students.”

WK’s leadership beyond BC directly shapes their approach in the classroom. “It has shown me the importance of collaborative problem-solving and real-world advocacy,” they explained. “It’s led me to make my classroom much more student-directed and to focus on developing new, more collaborative formats of debate—like Consensus-Building.”

They hope their students see that leadership and advocacy go hand in hand. “The best way to affect change is to be in the room where it is made, and one’s effort and voice can truly make that change happen.”

For WK, speech and debate has been life-shaping, from reviving their own high school’s defunct team to coaching professionally for years. But their proudest moments come right here at BC: “Whenever our seniors use their Senior Speech to reflect on their time in Speech and Debate, that’s when I know we’ve done our jobs well. It’s the clearest articulation of the program’s impact, and I beam every time.”