L. E. Norton Higher Education Student Award

Norton served as President of the Illinois Speech Association in 1950. He spent his career at Bradley University where he was a Professor of Speech and served as the Director of Forensics. His status among speech educators is legendary.  Norton was responsible for inventing many of the events we compete in today, including duo interpretation and informative speaking. While at Bradley, he founded Pi Kappa Delta, the honorary speech fraternity. The annual Bradley University Individual Events Invitational is named in his honor and is considered one of the most prestigious college individual events tournaments in the nation. He also coached the national championship GE College Bowl Team in 1969.This award is presented to an outstanding college major in speech or theatre who has made significant contributions to the college, community and discipline.

2023 L. E. Norton Higher Education Award Winner

Brenna Bretzinger, Northern Illinois University

In May, Brenna Bretzinger graduated from Northern Illinois University with High Honors receiving her Bachelor of Science with a double major in Actuarial Science and Applied Mathematics along with two minors in English and History. After joining NIU Forensics, with no prior experience and a fear of public speaking, Brenna explains that she found a passionate and supportive community who fostered her love of public speaking and communication. She served as both President and Treasurer of NIU Forensics and Sigma Tau Delta Honorary, and as editor in Chief for the Stonehouse  Academic Journal. She is the recipient of numerous speaking awards including her National Championship in Informative Speaking. In addition to her participation in a wide range of co-curricular activities, she participates in a number of volunteer projects including Safe Passage, Huskie Food Pantry, Feed my Starving Children, and Stemfest.

This fall, she begins her graduate program in Communication Studies at NIU where she will teach a section of the basic course and assist in the forensics program. Her goal is to teach communication and provide students the tools to create safe spaces to speak their mind, to never feel silenced,  and to share their voice. She is excited to be at her first professional Communication convention and is looking forward to becoming an active member of the Illinois Communication and Theater Association.

Watch Brenna's acceptance speech here: https://youtu.be/pmTRtHFr7Xk