Quite a road to travel, from North Fayette to Harvard

Second session group for Harvard Debate Council's workshop for public speaking and argumentation, July 2015.

 

Students speak to groups as small as two up to 30 or more at a time throughout the Harvard campus. Instructor Deano Pape says his favorite moment is when the public asks the students questions after their speeches. (Courtesy photos.)

 

Quite a road to travel, from North Fayette to Harvard

 

Janell Bradley
info@fayettecountynewspapers.com

 

His dream was to be an English teacher, but today 1990 North Fayette High School grad Deano Pape is a teacher/coach at Harvard University's summer debate workshops, while serving as collegiate programs manager at the National Speech and Debate Association in Des Moines.

That's quite a road to travel from his first orations back in Vicki Rowland's English class in the old junior high school building in West Union.

"My classmates named me Speaker of the Day," remembered Deano of his introduction to speech as part of ninth-grade English. "The last line on the postcard, which I still have, stated: I think we can expect great things from Deano in speech!" 

When he reached high school, Deano flourished as a student of speech coach Molly Wheeler and English teacher Diane Johnston.

"I wanted to model my career after them," he said of the two women who taught at North schools until retiring. Participating in choral reading, one-act plays, prose interpretation, humorous acting, and literary program, Pape advanced to All-State several times, the highest level in Iowa speech competition. Now, he relishes his role as an All-State critic.

After getting a BA in communication/theater from Central College in Pella, Deano earned an MA in speech communication from Central Missouri State. As an associate professor of communication and director of speech and debate at Ripon College in Wisconsin, he taught persuasion and mass media, social media analysis and criticism, public speaking, film criticism, and journalism, in addition to other classes. He also coached Ripon's nationally recognized Ethics Bowl team. During the time he and his wife, Vicki, lived in Ripon, Deano also served as an alderman on the town council, yet another opportunity for him to debate issues of concern.

"I was always pretty chatty. Even as a little kid I wanted to read books to my sister Roxanne. I'm sure I drove her half-crazy," he said of his big sister, who now lives in nearby Ossian.

He continue, "I've never been one of those who fear public speaking as much as death.” 

Therefore, it's probably no surprise to his family and friends that Deano is now influencing young minds at Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher learning in the U.S.

After his graduation from college, Deano traveled the country enhancing faculty development efforts at over 25 colleges and universities through keynote presentations and workshop facilitation. Through his efforts with the National Speech and Debate Association National Tournament, he worked with the co-director of the Harvard Debate Council summer workshops. The two worked well together, which led the co-director to hire Deano as an instructor for one two-week session. Five years later, Pape is co-director of curriculum for the Public Speaking and Argumentation workshop. 

Most days he's at camp from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., lecturing, coaching, judging, and handling logistics.

"We work most weekends as well. It's a very, very intensive four weeks,” the former local resident said.

One of the aspects Pape enjoys most is that his students can be from China, Spain, Canada, Saudi Arabia, or Japan, and they all learn debate together. 

In 2012 and 2013, when he coached Chinese students in debate, Pape said a primary goal was to get his students to make logical jumps beyond just the evidence in front of them.

This season, his public forum debate topic involves reparations for African-Americans stemming from slavery. "That topic is incredibly politically charged," he noted. 

Another topic he recalls from a few years ago concerned a multi-cultural center being placed at the 9/11 Memorial site. 

"You need to be able to have a debate which challenges your assumptions, and you need to be able to learn how to support positions you might disagree with at a personal level. It's all about learning and growing and understanding each other, even when we are at odds," he explains.

If only Deano's Dad could see him now.

Deano's father, Dean, lost his battle with cancer in 1999. Beyond how much the two looked alike, they also shared a love for discussing politics, said Deano's mom, Lorraine. 

She added, "I've thought so many times that Dean would be so very proud of him."

Pointing out that she's proud of all her children, Lorraine admitted that life has been full of surprises where Deano is concerned. One year as she expected her son and his wife for Christmas Day dinner, she got an email from Deano indicating they'd just left at 8 a.m. Assuming he meant from the couple's home in Ripon, Wis., Lorraine’s first thought was to turn down the temperature on the meat in the oven. Twenty minutes later, they showed up at her front door, since they'd spent the previous night in Decorah, taking in a movie, she laughed.

Another time he didn't tell her of an impending visit and then snapped a photo of her as she scolded, hands on hips, "Where have you been since Christmas?"

"It's still something for me to think that Deano is teaching at Harvard," she admitted, “but he is, and he loves it."

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