State Farm supporting NHI’s online Great Debate programs for 2021

The National Hispanic Institute (NHI), which has been developing young Latino leaders since its 1979 founding, is pleased to announce that it will be renewing its partnership with State Farm in 2021.

State Farm has awarded NHI a $20,000 grant to support its 2021 GDx programs. The GDx program is the online version of NHI’s Great Debate program, a speech and debate tournament which allows high school students to develop public speaking, critical thinking, and teamwork skills.

The program shifted to an online platform in 2020 out of necessity, due to the pandemic pausing the in-person, college campus-hosted model that NHI has used for the Great Debate. The shift to an online program has allowed NHI to focus on digital communications—an increasingly-important facet of how leaders communicate—as part of the overall program.

“State Farm has become an important partner to NHI over the last few years, and we’re excited to have their support for another year,” said Nicole Nieto, NHI’s Executive Vice President. “The Great Debate is a foundational program to develop leaders focused on their communities, and State Farm has shown its belief in that program through financial backing that has allowed more students to participate. State Farm’s backing of the GDx will allow more students to experience the latest NHI edition of this important introductory program.”

“State Farm is proud to support the National Hispanic Institute in its efforts to help high school students develop valuable public speaking skills they will critically need and use when they join the workforce,” said Jose Soto, State Farm Corporate Responsibility Analyst. “The digital Great Debate tournament is an outstanding program that allows students to acquire and practice valuable communication skills.” 

The GDx program is the first of three programs NHI offers in its leadership education series for high school students. The immersive summer programs, typically four to eight-day programs on college campuses, are designed for high-achieving, college-bound Latino high school students to develop their leadership skills.

For more information or to register for a 2021 GDx program, visit the GDx page on the NHI website.