Reflections of An Alum
Caroline Harkins (05)

I graduated from Walter Panas last June, and I am currently a freshman at Dartmouth College. I debated for the Lakeland District Debate Team throughout high school, and the skills I acquired in those four years continue to be critical as I continue with national intercollegiate debate.

My college experience so far is exciting. I work with the most successful debaters and dedicated coaching staff in the country. I have a regular travel schedule that enables me to compete against the most competitive university and college teams in the U.S. While much of my ability to debate against these teams stems from the pre-tournament preparation we do at Dartmouth, the experience and resources I acquired while at Lakeland have proven essential to my current level of competitiveness.

Lakeland debate enabled me to compete against the smartest and most skilled debaters on the national high school circuit, traveling across the country to compete against the strongest high school programs. In college debate, I find myself seeing many of the same faces I competed against in high school. The experience of national circuit high school debate has been a major factor in my ability to advance to the college level. Furthermore, I see that many of the same arguments, styles, and skills that I learned in high school are as effective as ever. While collegiate debate requires more in-depth preparation, nothing is as important as the fundamental lessons that I acquired while in the debate annex.