Debate Captain Essay

Competitive forensics has been extremely important to me. Of course, debate has given me a multitude of skills, but also debate has helped me grow as a person. Being the Debate Captain for the past two years of the Texas State Debate team, has been an extreme source of pride during my collegiate career. Forensics drove my ability to craft solid opinions. Also, through forensics I have meet a multitude of new people and formed long-lasting friendships. I wouldn’t trade what I have gained from being on the Texas State debate team for anything.

Debate has helped shape me into a better person. While arguing all the time is harmful, knowing how to argue and clearly expressing one’s thoughts has been a great ability that I have gained while on the Texas State Speech and Debate Team. I am not close to perfect, but as a forensics competitor my persuasive skills continue to sharpen. Along with the skill of public speaking, which is an important skill in any field, I also
Often when asked what I do for fun, I bring up the debate team. Not only can I tell others that I am the captain, but I can also brag about the foundation of the team by Lyndon B. Johnson. Being not just the captain, but also the most experienced debater on the team often puts me into leadership situations. Often, I will do my best to help new debaters learn the skill, but also comfort them after mistakes. I know how bad it feels to make mistakes and not know what you’re doing while talking in front of people. Debate can be a lot to handle, especially at first and one thing I have learned is making mistakes is okay because there is always next practice, or next round, or next tournament. Learning how to win is important but learning how to recover after a bad loss is also important. Often losses are my best learning experience because it’s often easier to see what I can improve and what I should have done