Areeba Ahsan

I was part of the PBHS debate team for four years (2020–2024), and I loved every second of it. I competed in Impromptu (my main event), Dramatic Interpretation, Humorous Interpretation, Congress, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum, and I attended many tournaments. My favorite tournament was FCDI in Orlando. It was a travel tournament, and I met many highly skilled debaters from both in and out of state. My favorite event there was Extemporaneous Speaking, which was not common at the district level, and that made it quite an experience to be part of.

Currently, I am part of a speech program at my college, and I am a TA for the speech class. I learned many skills from the program, such as avoiding too many filler words, speaking properly, and, most importantly, learning how to dress. I feel that debaters pick up many verbal skills, but there are also many nonverbal skills that you naturally grasp along the way.

I work in sales, where communicating clearly is key, but so are making eye contact and dressing properly. Knowing what overdressed and underdressed look like is also important, and I owe those skills to debate.

Try debate at least once and speech at least once—they are two different worlds. It is good to stick to what you like, but it is also great to try different formats so you can learn different skills. Also, as novices, try varsity tournaments because you will learn a lot.

Aim to earn as many NSDA points as possible by supporting your team through judging, coaching middle schoolers, and attending travel tournaments—they are fun! Of course, we also need the support of parents to help judge, chaperone, and aid the booster club with fundraising events and ideas. Everything counts.