Testimonials
“As a student that has attended the Texas Debate Collective multiple times, I can definitively say that TDC is not only one of the most educational experiences I’ve been exposed to, but also one of the most important movements in the debate community… Personally, my experiences with TDC have been extremely educationally rigorous, and have forced me to advance not only as a debater, but as a student as well. It’s this pedagogical rigor that has led to TDC producing debaters in the last few years that are competitive on the absolute highest levels of debate… where other camps are concerned with maintaining a bottom line, or establishing political relations with big name programs, TDC has always been determined to do whatever it takes to help whoever needs it. It’s this determination that, at the end of the day, sets TDC apart as the foundation of equity within the debate community, and as the functional cornerstone of success for kids that really do deserve it.”
“TDC was an amazing experience for me. I loved all of the counselors and I learned so much… TDC not only taught so much about debate, but also while I was at camp made sure I had a fun, but safe time. Those days at camp are quite long and exhausting, but honestly I think that’s the most I have ever learned in 10 days. The counselors all worked so hard to put this together for us. I would see them staying up late pass midnight just to finish a lecture or a speech we would do in lab… They were always in a good mood and you could tell they were happy to be there. I want to thank everyone at TDC so much. I will definitely be coming back every year.”
“In order to be the best you have to learn from the best, and I truly feel like I learned from the best. I am simply amazed by your level of genius… I learned more in the 10 days that I was there than I have in my 2 years of debate experience.”
“The Texas Debate Collective is an eccentric hybrid of debate boot camp and a college crash-course. Students live in dorms, go to lectures, frequent food courts, and drill over skills from speed-talking to forcing an opponent’s argument to self-destruct. In the days following my experience at TDC, when eager family members asked me to describe my experience, they found me uncharictaristically speechless. ‘It was,’ I would finally conclude, ‘exhilarating, exhausting, and challenging—and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything’… I love TDC. Looking back, every second—the hours spent in lab, the rounds that made my heart race, laughing until I cried at the comedic timing of my coaches—was priceless, invaluable… I feel more prepared than ever to take on the (sometimes cutthroat) world of competitive debating, and the (usually cutthroat) world at large. I have never met coaches as committed to their students as the ones who counseled me at TDC; I have never strained my brain as hard as did during those whirlwind two-weeks at camp, and I have never simultaneously worked that hard, with such little sleep, and had that much fun.”
“The level of expertise at TDC was unrivaled – I have attended two other debate camps, and I can safely say that the lab leaders at TDC were some of the best… There are a few really important things that I have learned from TDC. The first is the most obvious – better understandings of debate and a stronger grasp on the strategic decisions that can be used to win debate rounds. However, I’ve also learned things from the staff that make me a better person. I’ve learned to always appreciate the things that I have and to give back to the community whenever possible. I’ve learned that those who make a difference are those who are willing to sacrifice time, money, and sleep in order to ensure that unfairness, prejudice, and judgment do not exclude certain people from debate. Most of all, I believe that through the Texas Debate Collective, I’ve learned that debate camps shouldn’t be just about debate – they should also do something to solve those problems within debate.”
