As she presses the start button on her timer, which is clipped to the very edge of her laptop, Madison “Maddie” Huynh (12) rapidly speaks about the topic of nuclear warfare in front of her opponent and a judge, rarely taking a gasp for air. Starting in the sixth grade, Maddie has been an active member of the policy debate team, where students advocate for and against resolutions that typically call for policy change by the United States federal government. Whether it be attending strikes, conducting research or presenting her arguments at debate competitions, Maddie aims to make a change in the world through solving and bringing attention to prevalent problems in modern-day international affairs.

Despite the challenge and rigor of policy debate, Maddie appreciates the insight and perspective on modern affairs that she has gained through speech and debate.

“They say that high school policy debate does almost a master’s thesis worth of research in one year because of how intense it is,” she said. “Yet, [speech and debate] has taught me about things that I wouldn’t have otherwise known about the world.”

Maddie has also been able to employ leadership and communication skills through debate, specifically through a public debate that was held last year on Earth Day.

“I was part of the team from Speech and Debate that led a public debate on the Green New Deal, in which I was able to educate a lot of students and adults about the intricacies of the policy and how we can play off of certain strengths and weaknesses of the economy to stop environmental degradation,” she said. 

After becoming lab partners in Biology, Maddie’s close friend Kathy Fang (12) has admired Maddie for how outspoken and knowledgeable she is about critical world issues.

“She has a debater’s mindset where she considers both sides of a problem, which I think is a great balance to have. Whenever you’re talking to her, you’re always having an informed conversation no matter how lighthearted it is,” Kathy said. “When I look at her, I think that’s somebody who’s going to be the next [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez].” 

Maddie’s main passion, which ties into her love for speech and debate, is research. She enjoys researching science and engineering to improve the lives of people around the world. 

“A lot of research tends to focus on medicine, but I want to focus on broader global infrastructure changes in my research,” Maddie said. “I love how through debate, we can use research to find policies that impact people in the best way to revolutionize our planet.”

Maddie has participated in multiple research competitions throughout high school, such as the Regeneron Science Talent Search, which is a prestigious science competition for high school seniors whose research is reviewed by a national jury of professional scientists.

“My research project that I did for the Regeneron competition a few months ago was how we could develop sustainable jet fuel that reduces climate change through reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which is developed through saltwater plants which is biologically renewable,” she said.

Another program she is invested in for research is Near Mitra, which is the Harker humanities research grant. Maddie is a Near scholar, and she receives guidance for her paper from librarian Amy Pelman and history and social science teacher Julie Wheeler.

“I’m supposed to write a paper on some realm of U.S. history, and mine is about refugee resettlement policies in the past regarding Vietnam and how policies have affected the long-term assimilation outcomes of those people,” she said.

Maddie applied to Near Mitra due to her interest in immigration and to connect with her family’s personal history.

“After reading the Pulitzer Prize winner ‘The Sympathizer’ I got really interested in the stories of my family’s past and their journey from Vietnam to America, so I wanted to pursue a deep dive into it,” Maddie said. “That inspired me to apply to Near Mitra and being selected for it has been one of the best things that has happened to me at Harker.”

Her interests merge in chemical engineering and her culture through research to solve worldwide problems.

“I think it’s really important to understand how the earth is impacted by environmental changes and how we can adapt to humanitarian crises, especially regarding how climate change is going to cause waves of refugees fleeing,” she said.

Through research and debate, Maddie has noticed the overwhelming lack of female representation.

“At Harker this is a little less apparent, but there are still a lot of components in debate that limit the potential of girls or non-male identifying people to succeed,” Maddie said. “People at Harker often don’t recognize the problems that exist outside of our community, so debate has really opened my eyes by teaching me about critical theory and things like race, gender and class.”

Maddie’s friend since kindergarten Michelle Kwan (12) shared how rather than being complacent about these problems, Maddie hopes to enact change.

“She’s always encouraging our friend group to go to protests. She really loves to be an active member in society and helping others do the same,” Michelle said. 

Maddie affirmed her intentions to challenge social discrimination by speaking out and attending rallies.

“A few times a year I go to climate strikes, women’s marches and Planned Parenthood funding rallies,” she said. “You don’t have to go to rallies to support a cause, but complacency and being completely unaware of it makes people think they’re not affected by the problem, but by doing that, they become part of the problem itself.”