{"id":16121,"date":"2014-05-22T13:23:17","date_gmt":"2014-05-22T17:23:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/?p=16121"},"modified":"2014-05-22T13:23:17","modified_gmt":"2014-05-22T17:23:17","slug":"speaking-from-the-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2014\/05\/22\/speaking-from-the-heart\/","title":{"rendered":"Speaking from the Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tom<\/a>
Tom Pacheco, right, works with a client in the UMW Speaking Center. Photo by Robert Martin.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a preteen at St. Ursula School, Tom Pacheco took the stage in front of his classmates, took a deep breath, and asked them for their vote for student government. After his very first speech, he was hooked on public speaking.<\/p>\n

Years later, Pacheco \u201914 found a way to share his knack for oration at the University of Mary Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cPublic speaking is something that people are extremely afraid of and I\u2019ve never felt that, but it\u2019s an incredible experience being able to help someone work through it,\u201d said Pacheco, who worked at the UMW Speaking Center for four years. \u201cI feel that I have these communications skills and I want to do something with them. I want to give back to the community in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n

He joined the debate team in high school and found a passion for speaking and learning. That passion led him to UMW.<\/p>\n

At UMW, debate permeated every aspect of his life. A philosophy and political science double major, Pacheco traveled throughout the United States as part of the Debate Team and spent countless hours in preparation. His topic du jour was the war powers of the president, including sending prisoners to Guantanamo Bay, initiating drone strikes and bolstering cyber defense.<\/p>\n

\"Tom <\/a>
Tom Pacheco (front) goofs off with the UMW Debate Team. Photos by Anand Rao. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"debate-2\" <\/a> <\/div>
\"debate-3\" <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n

\u201cI would wager that Tom has given more speeches and presentations than most any student finishing a Ph.D. program, and he has developed an expertise in public speaking and debate that rivals new college-level instructors in the field,\u201d said Anand Rao, associate professor of communication and director of the speaking intensive program and Speaking Center.<\/p>\n

In his four years on the Debate Team, Pacheco has racked up a long list of accomplishments \u2013 debating with Senator Tim Kaine<\/a>, competing at a round robin tournament at Dartmouth, winning the American Debate Association National Championship<\/a> with fellow alumnus Colin McElhinny and receiving the Julia Burke Award for Character and Excellence in American Debate Association Policy Debate.<\/p>\n

However, the awards pale in comparison to helping a fellow student practice a speech about overcoming a stutter. Before that encounter last year, Pacheco took his gift for granted.\"public-speaking-tips\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe speaking center is right in the heart of what\u2019s happening,\u201d said Pacheco. \u201cBeing able to work with students who either don\u2019t like public speaking or just need help is something that really makes me feel connected to the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pacheco will continue to give back through his two new jobs at Blake High School, a private school in Minnesota, and at the U.S. Naval Academy where he\u2019ll coach debate. He\u2019ll also return to UMW in February for a debate tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back, I will always remember debate and the Speaking Center,\u201d Pacheco said. \u201cThey go hand in hand and they really have been a meaningful experience. It\u2019s really rewarding that you get to meet these students and you get to learn a little bit about different topics and you get to reflect on your own public speaking skills. It really helps you grow personally.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tom Pacheco ’14 uses his award-winning debate skills to help others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":16151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"umw_cb_additional_links":[[]],"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_advisory_expires_time":"","_advisory_meta_include":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[65,2,86,36],"class_list":{"0":"post-16121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-show","8":"tag-alumni2014","9":"tag-classics","10":"tag-debate","11":"tag-political","12":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSpeaking from the Heart - Great Minds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.umw.edu\/greatminds\/2014\/05\/22\/speaking-from-the-heart\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Melina Downs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/22\\\/speaking-from-the-heart\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/22\\\/speaking-from-the-heart\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Melina Downs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/40421ab26b3450232f0804c6b67525a7\"},\"headline\":\"Speaking from the Heart\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-22T17:23:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/22\\\/speaking-from-the-heart\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":533,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/22\\\/speaking-from-the-heart\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/20\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/homepage_Tom-Pacheco.gif\",\"keywords\":[\"alumni2014\",\"Classics, Philosophy and Religion\",\"debate\",\"Political Science and International Affairs\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Show on Great Minds\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/22\\\/speaking-from-the-heart\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/22\\\/speaking-from-the-heart\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.umw.edu\\\/greatminds\\\/2014\\\/05\\\/22\\\/speaking-from-the-heart\\\/\",\"name\":\"Speaking from the Heart - 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