Why should you join speech and debate?

Below you will be able to read from former debaters coached by Waters and Cazzola who describe their experiences in Speech and Debate and how it has helped them succeed:

TJ Riggs - coached by Cazzola at Lassiter High School (Class of 2021)

Lassiter Debate was hands-down the most influential activity I have ever participated in. It taught me how to communicate more effectively, vastly improved my research and writing abilities, and introduced me to people that I am still close friends with today. Moreover, through my experience with Lassiter Debate, I was able to secure a full-ride scholarship to Samford University to debate on their policy team. Lassiter Debate has had a tremendous impact on my life, and I hope other students capitalize on the opportunity to participate in something so impactful.

Deanna Snellings - coached by Waters at Grovetown High School (Class of 2014)

High school debate was the single most influential activity I participated in. I only did debate for 2 years, but it underpinned every class I had in college and how I approach my career. I have degrees in political science, economics, and data engineering, and I work as a lead data scientist running the employee listening program at one of the largest companies in the US. I believe that high school debate is one of the reason I have been so successful in my career so quickly, and I still use the lessons I learned every day in my job now. Debate taught me how to look at a question from all angles without presuming one answer automatically better than another. It taught me how to analyze information and pull out the most important, most concise insights. It gave me confidence in presenting information. It taught me how to predict and prepare for the questions that would come from my conclusions. All of these things made me a better data scientist, which has propelled my career. But they also made me a better person -- a person who is more compassionate, more understanding, and more willing to learn about experiences beyond my own. Debate taught me how to look beyond myself and my own biases and really understand what I think and why I think it. You get what you put into these types of activities, but I think it's worth the effort -- I got so much more than I ever thought I would.

Alexis Berry - coached by Waters at Grovetown High School (Class of 2014)

Before I joined debate, I was soft spoken, classically introverted and never one to rock the boat. Debate (public forum) taught me just how important it is to understand multiple perspectives, nuanced context, and to stop latching on to the simplest solution. It taught me how to present information and formulate arguments in a meaningful way to effect change. It gave me confidence in my writing and speaking skills that I had never felt before in my life.

Today, I am a Senior Process Redesign and Performance Improvement Specialist at the telehealthcare company, Amwell; I’m also starting my masters this year in Applied and Computational Mathematics at John Hopkins (I graduated from Georgia Tech in 2018, Industrial & Systems Engineering). Every day I leverage the skills I honed while I was on the debate team - critical and analytical thinking, problem solving, and effective verbal and written communication. While these may seem like soft skills compared to Engineering, this skillset from debate has significantly enhanced the effectiveness of my work and my ability to advocate for myself in the workplace and life.

Jamie Davenport (she/they) - coached by Waters at Grovetown High School (class of 2016)

I’ve been a part of the debate community for almost 10 years now and my life is still tied to it. I’m currently an assistant coach for the Indiana University policy debate team while I’m also pursuing a dual-master’s degree in public affairs and environmental science. I competed in Lincoln-Douglas while I was in high school, and this led to me being recruited by a college policy debate team. I received a scholarship and was connected with even more financial aid opportunities through the debate team to the point that I obtained my BA in international relations, French, and Arabic without debt.

Both while I was in high school and college, debate was a priceless tool to develop my critical thinking and research skills that I could apply in my classes. My class research papers often closely followed the topics I was debating about every weekend so I could fully develop my arguments and turn in a high-quality paper while updating my arguments. Learning to quickly make connections between arguments also trained me to more adeptly process course materials and engage in class discussion. Debate also made me more confident in public speaking and presentations even with minimal preparation. I constantly rely on this training to give class or work presentations without nearly the same level of stress as my peers.

Debate introduced me to life-long friends both from my school and those we competed against. From being the maid of honor in my high school friend’s wedding to having peers in various graduate programs, academic roles, and political positions – the network that debate affords me is so advantageous both for interpersonal relationships and professional advancement. Debate influenced my academic and career trajectory as well. While I knew I wanted to work internationally, debate sparked a passion for environmental policy because the debate topic one year centered on emissions reductions in the private sector. I argued that we should impose a tax on methane emissions to make agriculture more sustainable and now I’m mastering content like that in environmental economics and sustainable agriculture policy in my current graduate studies. Because of debate, I am a competitive applicant for jobs or scholarships and have developed my research interests, so I have clearer goals for my studies.

Kennith Lee - coached by Waters at Northview High School (class of 2022)

Speech and debate was probably one of the most influential activities I did throughout high school. I am currently a freshman at Vanderbilt University and in just less than a year, I have done so much. I am president of my dorm, first-year liaison for the Questbridge chapter here, and I am about to emcee at the annual Lunar New Years Festival that just outsold a 1000 seat auditorium. In some way or form, I have to thank my time with Coach Waters and the debate team at Northview. I hated public speaking, however, I knew I had to get over that fear if I wanted to go into consulting or marketing, which I had planned to go into since freshman year. Although the first couple of tournaments were scary, I had such a great support system with my team and it helped me develop so much. I learned how to present myself and the content I want to deliver with efficiency and confidence. This is super important. Without learning how to do that, I would not have had the courage or ability to make the friends I made here or acquire the positions and mentors I have sought out during my time at Vandy. I was by no means an accoladed or talented debater, but I have learned that you do not have to be to gain skills that will prove useful for the rest of your life.

Rebekkah Hoxworth - coached by Waters at Grovetown High School (Class of 2015)

I was in Coach Waters LIT class in High School back in 2012-2013. When he insisted that I join the debate club, I hesitated due to my debilitating fear of public speaking and my sparse repertoire of extracurricular activities. But, as soon as I went to the first club meeting, I felt accepted.

The knowledge I gained from speech and debate still benefits me greatly. Speech and debate provided me with an environment to practice audience engagement tactics, a skill I frequently use as a dental assistant when teaching technical classes to other dental assistants. Also, in terms of everyday applicability, I feel it is a sport built upon the ability to understand and accept different perspectives and opinions, to know one’s own strengths and how to apply them for the betterment of a team, and to value respect for others over all things. Finally, on a more personal note, a big reason speech and debate still holds such a special place in my heart is that I had a hard time finding a place where I felt accepted in high school, and Coach Waters was the first teacher to show that he believed in me and inspired me to start believing in myself as well. When he pushed me to do more for myself and insisted that speech and debate was the first step, I did not understand how it could be helpful.

Now, I genuinely believe that if it were not for Coach Waters introducing me to speech and debate, I would not have the confidence that I do in myself or my abilities today.