Comradery, unity, and passion inspires Parktown High School for Girls debating captain
Parktown High School for Girls debating captain Laura Helling says that taking part in the extracurricular activity was easily the best decision she made at high school.
Winning provincials, the All Girls’ Festival, speaking in the nationals finals, and being selected for the South African team has been Parktown High School for Girls debating captain Laura Helling’s favourite moments of debating.
“All of these are very precious to me, because they represent years of hard work, and many of the amazing people that I’ve been privileged to learn from or speak with,” said the debating captain. “My favourite part of debating is when we all go to support another Parktown team, speaking at a weekend tournament, or when we get to be there for a nervous junior speaker doing their first debate. This culture is what makes debating special to me.”
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Laura explained that the speaking extracurricular activity has pushed her to become more confident, more open-minded, and more empathetic in her words and how she presents herself. “When you have to debate multiple perspectives of a given topic, you learn that many different voices are valid and deserve to be heard. While I enjoy a wide range of debating topics, my favourite ones have to be surrounding international relations and politics. I love seeing how interconnected the world is, and trying to join the dots between the cultures and situations of people in many different countries.”
The 17-year-old started debating at the beginning of high school. She was keen on trying new activities, and debating seemed like an interesting option, particularly because she was rather quiet and timid. The idea of an extramural that pushed her to be more confident, and become a better person, really appealed to her.
Laura concluded that committing to debating is easily the best decision she made in high school. “The life skills and knowledge base I have gained from it are invaluable. More importantly though, the debating community is filled with some of the smartest, kindest, warmest people I have ever met. I consider it a privilege to be coached by them and debate with them.”
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