Gabi's Debate Camp Fund
Donation protected
Hey! I'm Gabriela Figueroa, and I'm currently a junior at North Star College Prep High School. I debate on a national varisty circuit, and in total, I've been debating for 2 years. I became interested in the activity because of my passion for arguing and understanding the world.
Specifically, my style of debate is identity Kritiks, on an intersectional basis. I read a lot of critical race theory and of course apply it to my argumentation. Reading the literature that debate has exposed me to has allowed me to learn more about myself and my social location. The more I learn, the more I come to accept myself and different parts of my identity.
Besides for self discovery, debate is a space that allows me to advocate for my community, which means so much to me. I currently live in Newark, which is surrounded by negative stigmas and perceptions. A lot of kids who want to go to college look foward to "getting out the hood" or "making it out" of Newark; however, I want to change where I came from and make things better. I'm a staunch believer in making my own tangible change, and since I've lived in Newark for so long, I know what specifically needs to be done. As Angela Davis says, "I am changing the things I can no longer accept."
As far as achievements go in debate, I started off competing locally at Newark Debate Academy tournaments, then moved to traveling around the country. At my first national tournament, the 2016 Newark Invitational, I had a 4-1 prelim record and made it to semis. Later, I competed at Harvard's 42nd National Tournament where I broke to double octos and had a 5-1 record. This year, I won the varsity policy division at the Fall Capitol Beltway classic,had a 5-1 record in the prelims, and in turn got 1 bid for the ToC. Later, I won the 2017 Newark Invitational at Rutgers University Newark. I competed at Harvard again this year, as well as other national tournaments throughout the country. I also qualified and competed at Nationals twice in SLC, Utah and Ogden, Utah. I have overall done well in debate. However, there is a bunch of tournaments I have't been able to go to due to limts in funding. Despite this, I am forever grateful for being introduced to the activity and hope to continue it on into high school,as well as inspire other kids from my community to debate.
Every tournament is a learning experience, and I grow everytime. My wonderful coaches Nicole Nave and Rob Burns help as much as they can with argumentation and skill, but I aim to get better on my own time, which would be in the summer. This is why I am making this campaign, so that I may attend the debate camp of my choice. I plan to do big things with my debate career, and unfortunately one major thing holding me back is funding.
Specifically, my style of debate is identity Kritiks, on an intersectional basis. I read a lot of critical race theory and of course apply it to my argumentation. Reading the literature that debate has exposed me to has allowed me to learn more about myself and my social location. The more I learn, the more I come to accept myself and different parts of my identity.
Besides for self discovery, debate is a space that allows me to advocate for my community, which means so much to me. I currently live in Newark, which is surrounded by negative stigmas and perceptions. A lot of kids who want to go to college look foward to "getting out the hood" or "making it out" of Newark; however, I want to change where I came from and make things better. I'm a staunch believer in making my own tangible change, and since I've lived in Newark for so long, I know what specifically needs to be done. As Angela Davis says, "I am changing the things I can no longer accept."
As far as achievements go in debate, I started off competing locally at Newark Debate Academy tournaments, then moved to traveling around the country. At my first national tournament, the 2016 Newark Invitational, I had a 4-1 prelim record and made it to semis. Later, I competed at Harvard's 42nd National Tournament where I broke to double octos and had a 5-1 record. This year, I won the varsity policy division at the Fall Capitol Beltway classic,had a 5-1 record in the prelims, and in turn got 1 bid for the ToC. Later, I won the 2017 Newark Invitational at Rutgers University Newark. I competed at Harvard again this year, as well as other national tournaments throughout the country. I also qualified and competed at Nationals twice in SLC, Utah and Ogden, Utah. I have overall done well in debate. However, there is a bunch of tournaments I have't been able to go to due to limts in funding. Despite this, I am forever grateful for being introduced to the activity and hope to continue it on into high school,as well as inspire other kids from my community to debate.
Every tournament is a learning experience, and I grow everytime. My wonderful coaches Nicole Nave and Rob Burns help as much as they can with argumentation and skill, but I aim to get better on my own time, which would be in the summer. This is why I am making this campaign, so that I may attend the debate camp of my choice. I plan to do big things with my debate career, and unfortunately one major thing holding me back is funding.
Organizer
Gabriela Figueroa
Organizer
Newark, NJ