May 19, 2025 At 11:47 AM EDT
I didn't know what I wanted coming into high school. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the vivacity seemed to wane as a year and a half of four white walls being all I knew sapped so much of it. I longed for community. There was a dream in me to talk, reach out and feel that spirit again. That dream evaded me during freshman year, initially, as time flew away, but then my AP world history teacher, Mr. Delacoste, approached me with an interesting opportunity—the Fairchild Environmental Debate Tournament.
This parliamentary debate tournament, hosted yearly by the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, was so far out of my comfort zone within my cocoon of shyness that instilled hesitation everywhere I went. I was apprehensive toward the opportunity, but when I thought some more, I couldn't let Mr. Delacoste and, most important, myself down. I took that leap of faith and believed I could do it—and I did. I researched in the weeks before the debate, and I dreaded having to debate, but I didn't yield to the dread. This began an undying passion and commitment to debate.
As soon as that tournament ended, I eagerly sank my teeth into the idea of debate and getting a group of students together to form an official debate team. Our school lacked a debate team, and, after a year of carefully farming individuals to create that team, we were ready by the time the second Fairchild debate rolled around. At that tournament, we placed in the semifinals, fifth place out of 40 schools, and that was the commencement of our debate club at José Martí MAST 6–12 Academy.
We entered my junior year with momentum and direction. We began testing out a variety of formats, from public forum to more of the same parliamentary, but as the year dragged on, it became clear that between the idea of debate and debate itself was a chasm, and the structure we created unraveled, as we held just internal practices with dwindling participation, while our team struggled to find our bearings for what to do. In that unraveling, we found what we needed: the Miami-Dade Urban Debate League.
The league was what we needed to solidify our club base and ensure that we rallied behind the troops. With the league, I, along with Mr. Delacoste, was able to build a group of students and a community that would be resilient and grow fruits for years to come, even as I depart for college. The league brought even our most reserved members out of their shells, and the courage they all gained from it was awe-inspiring to me. What the MDUDL provides is serious discipline: it not only teaches the policy style that requires serious research but provides guidance to anyone who needs it to throw down the intimidating veneer of debate—which can certainly provide a good dose of fear for newcomers. Attending tournaments, I relished every second I had to debate and see members of the community I helped build grow in their abilities as both debaters and human beings—because stripped down of all of its layers, that's what debate is all about: connection.
Through debate, I was able to connect with people and gain relationships I never could've had without it. The opportunity to volunteer at the greatest civic nonprofit in Miami-Dade County, Virtutem Populo Inc., aiding in engaging middle/high school students through the potent tool that is civic knowledge. The confidence to utilize my voice gave me strength in my diction, and I poured it all into my own organization, Bridge of Wills. This organization is dedicated to healing the partisan vices that harm our country in this polarized climate. That confidence from debate helped me communicate my goals and form a BOW team that takes care and effort with every article that we make—those articles, an extension of debate's argumentative format, help me craft a convincing vision for a less partisan future in our country, as every paragraph and word is meticulously selected.
Finally, debate opened me up to new people and perspectives that I could've never otherwise experienced. All my triumphs, I owe to debate. My biggest triumph thus far is getting into my dream school, Duke University, through the early decision program to study political science and crack into the world of politics. Along with an acceptance to Duke University, I was selected as a finalist for a full-ride merit scholarship, a distinction given to a small portion of the incoming class. Furthermore, I was also a finalist for the Gates Scholarship, a distinction given to less than 3 percent of the scholarship applicants.
To the Miami-Dade Urban Debate League, Mr. Delacoste and my team, I owe you every bit of success I've had in the college admissions process and my life. As I transition to the next phase of my life with my family, I will never forget what debate has done for me, and I leave with no regrets for the community I helped found and build.
Daniel Nuñez is a current senior at José Martí MAST 6–12 Academy and an incoming freshman at Duke University. He is passionate about debate, history, politics and '70s music. Daniel strives every day to make a positive impact in his school and community, and he is uncompromising in his goal of becoming an elected official one day.
