She makes others feel

Throughout March, which is Women’s History Month, the Times-Register is again publishing a series of articles highlighting local women. Whether it’s through their careers, hobbies, volunteer efforts or unique personalities, these women have inspired others.

By Audrey Posten | Times-Register

MFL MarMac senior Mariah Moser is no stranger to performing. Her parents, Jonathon and Cheri, have been long-time contributors to Elkader Opera House Players productions, and Mariah estimates her first time on stage was in first grade.

“I was used to being in front of people, so public speaking has never been an issue for me,” she said. 

But joining speech her freshman year of high school was different. 

“It’s just me,” she said, “and it’s in a different setting. It feels more personal than theatre because you’re up close in a small classroom instead of farther away on a big stage.”

Mariah embraced the challenge. This spring, she’s wrapping up a historic speech career in which she qualified for All-State all four years of high school in both large group and individual events. She received multiple nominations some years, including in group mime and TV news in the 2026 large group contests and acting and after dinner speaking as an individual. 

“It feels really, really good,” reflected Mariah after learning of her latest individual nominations last week. “I’m very proud of it, but also it’s what speech has taught me throughout all of the years. It taught me how to tell a story, how to present it well, how to become more confident in myself.” 

“So I think the accomplishment of All-State was more than just the accomplishment,” she continued. “It was also all the work that was put into it that helped me along the way.”

Speech season at MFL MarMac is fast and furious. Whereas some schools begin preparing in November or December, Mariah said MFL MarMac often starts at the beginning of January because participants are so involved in many school activities. 

Large group is first, concluding with All-State in mid- to late-February. Then the season rolls right into individual. 

“Sometimes they overlap a little bit,” Mariah said. 

She acknowledged there’s a lot of cramming.

“Sometimes I think that’s almost beneficial because then you work so hard on it for a short period of time that it just sticks with you much better than if you were slowly learning all of the materials,” she admitted.

Mariah has participated in a variety of events over the years. For group speech, that included short film, musical theatre, group mime and TV news. Her groups have received All-State nominations for the latter two multiple times. 

She said it helps working with other talented students. 

“My freshman year, I was in a group with two juniors that we took to All-state with a humor group mime. Every year, TV news was a mix of freshmen through seniors,” she said. “I think it definitely helped having upperclassmen that were so involved in it because that encouraged me.”

Over the years, Mariah has tried to pay back that encouragement and experience.

“I’ve tried to become the upperclassman that encourages underclassmen to do it because I really want speech to keep growing,” she said.

For individual speech, Mariah tried storytelling, musical theatre, acting and after dinner speaking. She loved the diversity, but gravitated to acting and after dinner speaking the past two years. 

In acting, the participant shares a memorized presentation of a scene or monologue. It can be either serious or humorous in tone and is eight minutes in length. After dinner speaking is an entertaining original speech directed toward a specific audience or group and is centered around a theme. The speech may be informative, inspiring or entertaining.

Mariah’s performances have largely been humorous.

She referenced a common saying from mom Cheri, who’s also MFL MarMac’s speech coach: “Either you make them laugh or you make them cry. You just have to make them feel something.” 

“I like to make people laugh,” Mariah said.

All her individual pieces have been funny over the years, “and I think they just keep getting funnier,” she quipped. “My first acting piece I did was about a fish that almost destroyed my childhood. My next one was about how I stole a cat from my neighbor. My after dinners have all been pieces that will be relatable to the audience, but also make them laugh.” 

During large group speech, Mariah’s TV news switched it up a bit, however. Instead of a humorous take, students collaborated on a poignant piece that analyzed the impact the Archdiocese of Dubuque’s Journey in Faith restructuring could have in Northeast Iowa—particularly on local youth. The group featured many Catholics, including Mariah.

“That was different,” she said, “but I really enjoyed having that variety because it felt almost more important than if you were just trying to make someone laugh. Because you made them feel.” 

Despite her experience, Mariah said she still feels pressure performing in front of people. But it’s also a lot of fun. 

“I know it’s such a stereotypical thing to say, but I love doing it. And that just makes it easier,” she said. “I feel like I’m just here to entertain the audience, to give them a fun experience, even if I don’t do well with it.”

In fact, Mariah feeds off the audience. She recalled a performance her junior year when a fire extinguisher accidentally went off and forced participants into a smaller classroom. She was one of the final performers and all eyes were on her.

“It was packed and it was so hot, but I loved it because it just made the laughter seem even bigger. I loved the feeling of I’m the one making them happy,” she shared.

Mariah credited her mom and coach, Cheri, for growing MFL MarMac’s speech program and supporting herself and other students.

“She makes it fun for everyone,” Mariah said. “But she also just guides students and helps them. She’s definitely been the person who has guided me over the years. She helps me find my pieces. She helps me perfect them. She’s definitely the reason I’ve done as well as I have.”

Mariah will miss speech. She plans to watch her younger siblings perform, and hasn’t ruled out coaching someday. 

But even after she leaves high school, the skills she learned will remain.

“As much fun as it is, speech is also practice for when I’m speaking in front of other people. I do presentations for school, and I’ll definitely use it in college and when I go into a job,” she said. “So it’s not just memories. It’s also tools that I can use in the future.”

Mariah hopes her success will also inspire others.

“I know speech matters to a lot of people at MFL MarMac, and I hope it continues to matter,” she reflected. “I also hope they just continue to love it, because that is more important than making it to All-State.”