After dropping out of college in his early 20s and losing his job when the economy crashed, College of Western Idaho (CWI) alumnus, Luke Yeates, found himself “wrecked” and “listless”. “I had constructed what I thought was a life…it was really just a house of cards,” he said. “When I fell, I fell in spectacular fashion.”
Out of work for a year and a half, Yeates said he received some inspiration from CWI in the mail that changed everything. “It was just like any other day, I was unmotivated,” recalled Yeates. “I saw the postcard and decided I was going to go back to school.” He started classes the very next day.
Choosing to major in Communication, Yeates took three communication classes his first semester. He made an impression right way and before long instructors were encouraging him to join CWI’s Speech and Debate Team. Johnny Rowing, Associate Professor in the Communication Department at CWI, immediately identified Yeates as one who “possessed the talent, work ethic, and character to become a National Champion”.
“Johnny basically took my hand and said, ‘Come with me,’” Yeates recalled.
Having no prior experience in collegiate forensics, he recalls feeling inadequate among his teammates. A week and a half before his first tournament, Rowing assigned him to compete in debate, something he had no idea how to do. Yeates ended up taking second place in the tournament.
“That was it,” he said. “I knew this is what I was going to do. I was committed.”
His passion for speech and debate continued after completing his associate degree at CWI. Following graduation, Yeates transferred to Boise State University and became of member of the institution’s nationally recognized debate team, the Talkin’ Broncos. He was elected as the team’s president during the last year of his undergrad career in the fall of 2017. The team, hot off the trail of their third consecutive national title, was chosen to host the Pi Kappa Delta National Tournament which would bring over 800 competitors to the Boise State campus.
“I was super nervous! I didn’t want to be the president who lost on our home turf and break the streak,” he said.
The Talkin’ Broncos ended up winning their fourth consecutive national title at the tournament. Additionally, Yeates was recognized as a Pi Kappa Delta All-American, a highly prestigious honor awarded to only ten students every two years.
Beyond speech and debate, Yeates’ time since CWI and as a student at Boise State has been far from “listless”.
He spent time as an advisor in the Communication Department and as a Learning Assistant and Teaching Assistant in communication classes – helping students, holding workshops, and giving lectures.
In March 2017, he had the privilege of traveling to Dubai where he and three of his classmates represented Boise State at the Hult Prize regional finals. That same month, he was chosen to speak at the Ethos Project Symposium, an annual event designed to showcase the passion and innovation of undergraduate students.
Yeates was one of the original members of Boise State’s Prison Debate Initiative, a program designed to promote advocacy among individuals at the Idaho State Correctional Center by teaching them skills in speech and debate. “A lot of people don’t have a voice,” he said. “If I have found mine, it would be selfish of me not to show others how to find their own.”
Most recently, Yeates was named the College of Western Idaho Speech and Debate Honorary Alumni for 2017. “Luke was chosen because he not only went on to massive success at Boise State,” stated CWI’s Director of Forensics, Jim Gatfield, “but because he modeled a competitive style that inspired his peers to success.”
Although Yeates completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication at Boise State University this past May, his journey is far from over. He plans to continue his education at Boise State in pursuit of a graduate degree. He was also selected and will begin working in a Graduate Assistantship position for the Communication Department this fall.
Yeates says his ultimate goal is to return to CWI to teach and coach the institution’s speech and debate team.
“I wasn’t anything special when I came to CWI,” Yeates said. “I rode the bus and bummed money from people to eat,” Yeates communicated. “Everything I am now…Dubai, the ETHOS Project, prison debate, speech and debate, national championships, my jobs, my degrees…that’s all from choosing to go to CWI…ALL OF IT!”
“Sometimes you just need a little pressure and you turn into a diamond.”
