Community, public speaking, involvement and passion have been driving factors to push senior Lexi Velgersdyk and freshman Marin Weisser to secure themselves a spot in debate Nationals. For Velgersdyk, it’s her fourth time qualifying and for Weisser, it’s her first time qualifying. The pressure weighs down on both participants as they begin to prepare for Nationals in June.
For both Velgersdyk and Weisser, debate matters because it provides an outlet to discuss global issues and be a part of a team that shares similar views and passions. Debate has given Velgersdyk the confidence she found herself searching for, as well as the necessary public speaking skills to pursue a career in law. As for Weisser, her ability to speak about topics such as civil rights and social issues pushes her to make a difference amongst her peers.
While the preparations and debates themselves are very rewarding, the community aspect plays a big role in the overall enjoyability of the activity.
“I’ve made some of my closest friends on the debate team here at Southeast, and we’re all really close,” Velgersdyk said. “It’s a pretty tight-knit community.”
“It’s really cool to be able to talk with kids who care about similar issues as you and to be able to talk about current events in an academic setting,” Weisser said.
As for titles, Velgersdyk has earned the titles of a four year Nationals qualifier, she won every single regular season tournament this year besides one, placed fourth at State this year, placed second at State last year, won the Ethos, Pathos, Logos Award and became the Nebraska Debater of the Year.
While it is Weisser’s first year debating for Southeast, she was the only freshman to qualify for debate Nationals.
“When I qualified for Nationals I was really ecstatic, because it’s a very amazing opportunity that not a lot of people get,” Weisser said, “so I’m really grateful to have qualified.”
Velgersdyk expressed, “If I didn’t qualify for my senior year I think that would have been my last straw. It would have wrecked me especially after qualifying for the past three years.”
Although Nationals may seem far away, June is quickly approaching. To start preparing, Velgersdyk and Weisser will be given a lengthy list of topics in the first week of May, then have a month and a half to prepare all of them. Lastly, they will debrief each topic and write speeches based on that.
Despite any nerves present while debating, preparation takes much time and the two debaters continue to persevere through regardless.
“Usually before my first speech at every tournament, I’m really shaky when I’m speaking, but it’s really just about finding your flow,” Velgersdyk said.
“At my first ever tournament, my voice was so shaky and I was just really stressed out. But being in debate has allowed me to have better speaking abilities,” Weisser said.
The two play very important roles within their team, and while both independence and teamwork have proven to be necessary skills during debate, their coaching matters equally as much.
“I really enjoy working with both of them – not just because they’re excellent debaters, but more importantly because they’re both self-driven, conscientious, kind, and empathetic,” Steven Dosskey, Velgersdyk and Weisser’s debate coach, stated. “They both want to improve and succeed, but never forget the people around them and the importance of empowering others as well as striving for their own goals & aims.” Dosskey’s coaching of Velgersdyk throughout highschool has allowed him to see her continued growth and improvement.
“Her skill in understanding topics and crafting arguments speaks for itself, of course, but her growth in communicating and explaining her arguments with clarity and confidence, as well as answering opponents’ counter-arguments on the fly, has been fantastic, and has taken her competitive ability to the next level time and time again. Zero doubt why she’s a four-time national qualifier,” Dosskey said.
While it is only Dosskey’s first year coaching Weisser, he has been able to witness her broaden many skills in just one year.
“Over her first year, Marin’s growth as a debater, speaker and thinker has been so exciting to witness. She’s highly perceptive, and her natural ability to analyze and understand these debate topics at a level of depth beyond her years is truly striking. Her growing confidence and poise in delivering her arguments are making her a force; she may not be the most experienced in the room, but she’s clearly among the best. I truly cannot wait to see where her continued improvement takes her. “
Through the growth represented by Velgersdyk and Weisser, Dosskey feels that, “debate is one of the most valuable high school activities you can participate in. The skills debate equips you with are invaluable for all facets of life: debate strengthens your ability to analyze the world around you, dive into and understand complicated topics, weigh the available evidence and information and determine the best course of action. Everyone needs more of that; the world needs more of that.”
So, despite any nerves, anxiety and feeling the pressures of a team rooting for you to do your best, Velgersdyk and Weisser have found a home within the debate community and will continue on to Nationals to represent Southeast through their passions and involvement.
