Rahul Shukla (11) initially joined debate because of a basketball injury, but he quickly became immersed in the speaking, research and social aspects of the activity, leading to his appointment as a policy debate captain.

When Rahul first started policy debate in seventh grade, he was an introvert, but over the past five years, debate has shaped aspects of his personality.

“As I started debate, I started voicing my opinions, I started gaining in interest in political debates,” he said. “Besides the educational aspect of debate, I’ve become a better public speaker, and I’ve learned to research in more effective manner.”

As a debate captain, he represents the debate team in a variety of ways; his responsibilities include announcing results of tournaments during school meetings, directing research and aiding novice and middle school debaters.

Most of his work goes towards researching evidence to counter the arguments of his opponents, but one important exercise for him is a 10 minute speaking drill each day. This drill helps him increase his speaking speed, which is an important aspect of policy debate because of the stringent time limit on speeches.

Policy debate speeches are densely packed with information and arguments, so Rahul finds that his biggest challenge is conveying all of his points in the five or eight minute speeches.

“[The most difficult part of debate is] during a speech when you have so much to say, but you’re given a time limit on that speech so choosing how to say it effectively in an ethos-y manner, while also conveying the point and not spending too much time on one subject,” he said.

He is currently doing research on government encryption, the policy debate topic at the moment.

Tournaments are national events, ranging in location from Florida to Kentucky. As a result, he has had the opportunity to cultivate friendships with students from schools all over the country, so he enjoys the social aspect of attending tournaments. Additionally, he appreciates the educational value of competing.

“I increase my advocacy skills and my public speaking skills by gaining this experience and talking to judges about relevant public policy issues as well as critical issues such as race relations, climate change, economic issues such as the debt ceiling, so I think this all culminates in a very well rounded citizen,” he said.

Rahul is currently attending a tournament in Dallas, the 2015 St. Mark’s School of Texas Tournament, which starts on today and ends on Sunday.