Newsweek Mightier supports the next generation of American leaders as they try to find common ground in our fractious, sometimes toxic, national conversation. Mightier will promote high school debate and the debaters, schools, coaches and mentors who are working to keep our Civil Discourse civil for the future.
Marianny Torres-Collado, who will be a junior in high school this fall, is a student debater with the Denver Urban Debate League. Learn about the positive impact that debate has had on her life with this video profile.
This year, Wright-Crichlow was named the 2024 Coach of the Year by the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL), the first coach from the Bay Area Urban Debate League (BAUDL) to receive this honor.
"Behind the scenes, the organizers and I have had many conversations about the best way to welcome these youngest of participants into the world of debate," Metheny wrote.
"Especially after the crushing blow of COVID's social isolation, students need community to survive adolescence more than ever," Cram Helwich wrote.
