Debate Student Captures International Citation

Senior ISU debater Kaden Marchetti received a rare All-American Award Sunday from Pi Kappa Delta, the oldest speech and forensics association in the United States. Marchetti was among only seven to receive the honor in the last two years. The announcement came during the awards ceremony for the 103rd national tournament which concluded March 21. The debater and his teammate captured the Public Forum National Championship at the tournament.

Marchetti is a two-term president of the nationally ranked ISU Rupp Debate Squad, the former-and-current National Champion in collegiate Public Forum debate, and was quarterfinalist at the 2019 Individual Parliamentary Debate national tournament in Shreveport, Louisiana. Marchetti has also enjoyed championship wins in British Parliamentary debate at the Steve Hunt Classic (2019), the Lewis and Clark Invitational (2019), and the Great Salt Lake Invitational in 2021.

In their nomination letter, Marchetti’s coaches Sarah Partlow-Lefevre and Andy Christensen wrote: “Reflecting on his undergraduate career, we note that Kaden has made innumerable presentations, coached his peers to better craft arguments, and battled though competitions running the gamut from regional scrimmages to hard-fought wins on national stages. Kaden’s abilities to prioritize his many responsibilities, to serve as an astute learner, and to incorporate critical feedback qualify him to be a Pi Kappa Delta All-American.”

Marchetti will graduate this spring with a bachelor's degree in computer science and recognition from Idaho State University’s Honors Program. He is four-year recipient of an Idaho Governor’s Cup scholarship, and he has also been awarded the Samuel Bennion Honors Scholarship.

Marchetti is the son of Jim and Debbie Ogden-Marchetti of Pocatello, and a graduate of Highland High school, where he has worked as an assistant debate coach. He is also employed as a career path intern at Idaho State in the Department of Communication, Media, and Persuasion. He begins graduate school in the fall at the University of Idaho.