Texas Ambassador Great Debate students shine at UT

To close out the calendar on the National Hispanic Institute’s slate of 2017 summer programs, more than 200 students from across Texas converged on the University of Texas at Austin for the 2017 Texas Ambassador Great Debate. In a competition involving students representing cities and regions from all over Texas, San Antonio took top honors with one of its two teams, while the Rio Grande Valley placed in second, and Houston finished third.

“The Ambassador Great Debate, once again, proves to be a showcase of NHI’s best and brightest,” said NHI’s Paola Hernandez. “The finalists were some of the best I’ve seen in years and the Atheneum participants were exceptional! This program, more than other Texas Great Debates, is a wonderful example of camaraderie and the impact of forging a lifelong commitment to our community.”

Winners in individual categories included:

Extemporaneous Speaking
First Place – Fabian Luna: Yes Prep Southeast, Houston, Texas
Second Place – Diego Gonzalez: Central Catholic High School, San Antonio, Texas

Oratory
First Place – Christian Garza: McAllen Memorial High School, McAllen, Texas
Second Place – Sergio Padilla: Central Catholic High School, San Antonio, Texas

Cross Examination
First Place – David Lee: Lamar Academy, McAllen, Texas & Valeria Garcia: Lamar Academy, McAllen, Texas
Second Place – Fabiola Salazar Garcia: Lamar Academy, McAllen, Texas & Ethan Saenz: Sharyland Pioneer High School, Edinburg, Texas

Mock Trial
First Place – Rogelio Cruz: Fox Technical High School Advanced Learning Academy, San Antonio, Texas & Isabella Garcia: Young Women’s Leadership Academy, San Antonio, Texas
Second Place – Angelica Sifuentes: Eastwood Academy, Houston, Texas & Westside High School, Houston, Texas

The journey for some of the Texas Ambassador Great Debate students will continue — along with their compatriots in other NHI programs — at the 2017 edition of Celebracion, taking place November 16-19 in San Marcos.

This program is made possible in part by sponsorship from State Farm, Union Pacific, and Winston & Strawn LLP.