Greenhill Debate Caps Off Tremendous Summer Season

The Greenhill Debate Team capped off its summer with tremendous success in both national and international competition.Mitali Mathur `16 put together a stellar summer campaign as the Greenhill senior was a member of the USA Debate Team. Mathur - along with her four teammates - represented the country at the 2015 World Schools Debating Championship in Singapore where the squad competed against teams from England, Hong Kong, Singapore, Palestine, Slovenia, Mexico, Estonia, Wales, Netherlands, Morocco, South Africa, Romania, Czech Republic and United Arab Emirates. Mathur was recognized as one of the top speakers in the competition that featured 53 nations and helped the USA Debate Team finish 10th overall.Mathur was also one of 12 students on the national debate team that participated in the National Speech & Debate Association's National Championships held this past June in Dallas. The competition is the largest academic competition in the world that hosts over 4,000 students representing 1,200 schools across the nation. Following the competition, Mathur was recognized as one of six finalists in the country for National Student of the Year.Varad Agarwala `16 and Bennett Eckert `16 competed at the National Speech & Debate Association Nationals in the Lincoln Douglas category. Agarwala came away with a bronze medal while Eckert finished 12th overall in a field that comprised over 200 students from across the country. The topic of debate was "Resolved: Inaction in the Face of Injustice Makes Individuals Morally Culpable." Due to their finish at the national competition, Agarwala and Eckert both earned a berth to the 2016 NSDA National Tournament set to be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition, Agarwala and Eckert were honored with both All State and All-American accolades for their outstanding results.Nicole Stachowiak `20 earned a ninth-place showing in the Lincoln Douglas Debate at the National Junior Forensic League National Tournament.Aaron Timmons - Greenhill's Director of Debate - served as the head coach of the national team and was widely-praised in the debate community as he was honored with The Thomas Glenn Pelham Aw3ard sponsored by Emory University. The honor is given to one coach in the country each year, and the award's inscription states, "in recognition of devotion to the forensic arts which teach motivation, integrity and character." His wife, Cindi, served as the Team Manager for the national team as well.Heading into the 2015-16 school year, the Greenhill Debate Team spent the summer at various workships throughout the country, including Dartmouth College, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Northwestern University, UCLA, University of North Texas, Georgetown University and Queens University.