We’ve been checking in on recent CDL alumni to find out how they’re doing in college. Each issue of the Chronicle this year will feature one or two responses. We hear this month from Luis Hernandez and Pedro Galarza.

Luis Hernandez

“Debate has helped me adapt well to college life. I am able to articulate important information during discussions. I am also able to introduce myself to new people with a lot more confidence than in high school.”
– Luis Hernandez, Thomas Kelly alum and Grinnell College freshman

Pedro Galarza

“Debate has made me a better reader, speaker, researcher, listener, and (most importantly) thinker. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t refer to the skills I acquired participating in the Chicago Debate League. I’m more confident in classrooms. I’m more organized. And I’ve been exposed to so many college level research habits in high school debate that writing an 8 page research paper isn’t nearly as agonizing. Additionally, debate has given me social direction. Debate gave me the tools and information to think and function critically: to formulate my own political identity. Debate was one of the most important and educational experiences of my life, and I would recommend it to anyone seeking to enhance their understanding of the world and themselves.”
– Pedro Galarza, Jones alum and UC Santa Cruz Mathematical Physics major