Diane Edginton

Diane Edginton is a native Portlander with strong ties to Portland State University. She received her bachelor’s degree from PSU and completed her graduate studies in teaching there as well. After retiring, she returned to teach an advanced course on teaching English.

After graduating in 1967, Diane began a thirty-three year career as a high school speech and English teacher. She felt blessed to have been coached by PSU’s legendary speech professor, Ben Padrow. Diane’s focus was teaching high school speech and debate and she created a dynasty of competitive speakers in Oregon.

At Clackamas High School she regularly fielded teams of fifty or more competitors and her forensic students won literally thousands of awards including over fifty individual State Championships and two OSAA overall Team State Championships. She also coached two championship Mock Trail teams and several forms of debate.

The first in her family to graduate from college, Diane was the product of a bustling 1960s Portland State University. The climate was right for young, forward-thinking people who wanted to change the world. She never looked back—getting up each day with enthusiasm and always contemplating a new lesson plan with zeal. She truly loved her students, once saying: “Some people have extraordinary homes, luxury cars, and huge stock options, but I have always felt truly rich because I love my job, my students, and the goals of my profession.”

That enthusiasm was noticed. While at Clackamas High School, Diane won the staff “Excellence & Effort Award” and the “Golden Apple” for outstanding teaching from the student body. She also earned the National Forensic League’s coveted Triple Diamond standing. In 1997, she was awarded the Oregon Speech Educator of the Year award. Diane’s warmth and ability to connect with her students grew her teams larger each year. “Edge” as her students called her, qualified students for the national tournament six times.

 The bonds forged in all the miles and years spent traveling with her students, the eighteen plus hour days and practice schedules, and the twenty plus weekends she spent at tournaments each year, make it unlikely that Diane could ever forget her beloved students…or that they could ever forget her! Her holidays are still filled with calls and cards and she remains as excited and supportive of her “kids” as ever. 

Today, some of her former students are NBA commentators, television anchorwomen, film producers, teachers, administrators, a least one genuine rocket scientist, and over thirty-five attorneys. No matter what their field, nearly all of them credit some of their career success to the intense speech training they received from Diane.

Diane and her husband now reside in Hockinson, Washington. The family has donated a scholarship to Clackamas High School speech graduates for the next three years, to promote the development of young people who want to become speech educators. The new Fine Arts foyer at Clackamas High School will feature many of her team’s trophies and remain a place where her achievements are honored. Retired now, Diane and her daughter enjoy her other passion—a long-time love of show horses. They have earned many regional and national titles. Diane feeds and grooms without complaint—it’s a labor of love. Looking back on her career, Diane never sees it as work: “It was well-spent—the joy could not be bought at any price.”

Written by Angela Edginton-Burckhard (daughter, PSU grad 1997)