There aren’t too many people who are willing to confront global issues head-on. Most of us would rather let political leaders make the decisions that will shape our future. But instead of standing by idly, Muzzi Khan (12) explores the intricacies of everything from local policies to international legislation in search of the solutions of tomorrow.

Muzzi has been involved in debate since sixth grade. Although he originally joined to improve his public speaking skills, he discovered how much he enjoyed the opportunity to discuss and critically evaluate differing perspectives, even those he may not personally support.

“I like considering the viewpoints of people who I disagree with,” Muzzi said. “I’ll go to the Heritage Foundation to read news articles even though I expressly disagree with their views. [In debate], I can’t tunnel vision into one side of the argument; I have to understand not only how to make my own claims, but also the intricacies of the other side.”

Close friend Zubin Khera (12) attested that Muzzi’s commitment to understanding every side of an argument helps him craft balanced, well-informed perspectives on a wide range of topics, even beyond the scope of debate.

“Muzzi always deeply analyzes every aspect of the conversation that’s being had,” Zubin said. “When he does talk about his opinions, he always brings up very insightful points. But he always takes his time to do so. He makes sure that he’s an observer, and that he brings up a good argument before he does anything.”

Muzzi’s thoughtful analysis has earned him recognition in several recent debate tournaments, including placing in the top eight of national events. But for many years, he struggled to reach the qualifying rounds despite investing much of his spare time into the activity. After changing his pessimistic mindset to one of growth, Muzzi finally began to progress into the final rounds of more tournaments.

“Right before junior year, I completely switched the way I prepared arguments and how I tried to execute them,” Muzzi said. “At a small local tournament, I was able to reach the lowest level of elimination rounds. It’s not prestigious at all; in comparison to the other accomplishments I now have in debate, it’s incredibly tiny.”

Upper school speech and debate teacher Greg Achten, who coached Muzzi for Lincoln Douglas tournaments, witnessed Muzzi’s transformation at the start of junior year firsthand and appreciates his strong work ethic within debate.

“Muzzi’s one of the hardest working students that we have,” Achten said. “When he was a junior, he took on a critical research assignment that he did himself. The very next tournament that he went to, he won a bunch of really important debates and had a huge breakout year after that. He realized that research and hard work are powerful, and those are really the keys to success.”

Beyond making use of his talent as a debater, Muzzi supports the debate team through his charisma and leadership. In a recent tournament, he helped several younger debaters refine their skills throughout the event.

“Muzzi was working with one of our assistant coaches at a tournament,” Achten said. “And that assistant coach told me that Muzzi was a fantastic leader within their little group of students. He would make time to talk to [the students] about their debates. As team captain, he’s a role model and just all around a really supportive teammate.”

As he does with his teammates, Muzzi quickly brings laughter to any conversation with his spontaneous jokes. Yet he also cares deeply about the people around him, a quality that complements his humorous personality.

“Muzzi is funny and sharp-witted,” Zubin said. “But I’ve learned that he’s also resourceful, extremely intelligent and very community-oriented. He’s always willing to sacrifice his time to help others. He’ll drop everything he’s doing and hop on a call with us if we need any help.”

Within his circle of friends, Muzzi frequently encourages others to explore things they may be uncomfortable with, whether those be songs from new artists or contradictory political opinions. By gaining perspective on a variety of topics, Muzzi believes it’s possible to become a more knowledgeable, broad-visioned person.

In general, Muzzi’s analytical mindset renders him both rational and well-informed, a value that debate partner and friend Rahul Mulpuri (12) greatly appreciates.

“Muzzi adds a lot of rationalization to the process, which I don’t usually get from other people,” Rahul said. “He demonstrates a clear grasp of the details of American politics, international law and even philosophy at large. That’s definitely something that I’ve learned a lot about from him.”

Looking towards the future, Muzzi hopes to continue inspiring people to think deeply about why they support what they believe in to achieve a balanced viewpoint.

“Being willing to consider other perspectives is something that I’ve tried to push my friends to do,” Muzzi said. “When you actually get to know something, everything is different than what you expected.”