California Sol Great Debate showcases U.S. and Mexico in pivotal and electric six days

The 2025 edition of the California Sol Great Debate brought a cohort of more than 160 students from two neighboring nations together. A large contingent of students from Mexico, plus additional representatives from the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, joined an American group primarily from California, Arizona, and Nevada, for the first steps in a three-year leadership education journey. 

“The University of San Diego was the perfect backdrop to the largest six-day program of the summer,” said Paola Hernandez, the program’s education director. “This year’s program was electric, and the next iteration of NHI’s work on the West Coast. It has been four years since the first California Sol program; our very first class is starting college this fall, and the second Sol class produced this summer’s Rocky Mountain CWS valedictorian!

“The 2025 program was a pivotal marker in the student development work we’ve been doing over the last four years,” she added. “This year’s Great Debaters accepted the challenge to imagine the best version of themselves and their communities, and pushed themselves to grow their skills to better serve. Reframing community leadership as a calling and illustrating community equity building principles through our own volunteer staff will yield tremendous results. I can’t wait to celebrate the assured success of the Great Debate class of 2025!” 

Mexican high schools like Colegio Americano de Torreón and Escuela Carlos Pereyra, both in Torreón, and Colegio Ignacio Zaragoza La Salle in Saltillo, stood out with multiple award winners among the ranks of students who represented. North of the border, schools like Yuma Catholic High School in Yuma, Arizona, La Salle College Preparatory High School in Pasadena, California, and Coronado High School in El Paso, Texas stood out. 

The Sands Cares-supported program in Las Vegas also represented well, with 25 students from the city attending their introductory NHI program. 

Top Honors

Cross Examination

• 1st Place: Ana Cristina Castro Rivera, Colegio Americano de Torreón, Torreón, Mexico, and Isabella Levario, Coronado High School, El Paso, Texas
• 2nd Place: Seth Barrera, Coronado High School, El Paso, Texas, and Alexa Hernandez, 
• All-State: Alyssa Dabdoub, Yuma Catholic High School, Yuma, Arizona, and Shantal Silva, Faith Lutheran High School, Las Vegas, Nevada

Oratory

• 1st Place: Humberto Garibaldi Necochea, Colegio Americano de Torreón, Torreón, Mexico
• 2nd Place: Valentina Paredes Mata, Escuela Carlos Pereyra, Torreón, Mexico
• All-State: Paulina Garcia, Escuela Carlos Pereyra, Torreón, Mexico

Extemporaneous Speaking

• 1st Place: Elizabeth Valdes, Coronado High School, El Paso, Texas
• 2nd Place: Ana Paola Septién Facusse, Colegio Ignacio Zaragoza La Salle, Saltillo, Mexico
• All-State: Santiago Rendon, Colegio Americano de Torreón, Torreón, Mexico

Athenaeum

• 1st Place: Izabelle Arechiga, Tucson High Magnet High School, Tucson, Arizona; Ana Camila Hernandez, Yuma Catholic High School, Yuma, Arizona; Gabbie Garcia, Robert F. Kennedy High School, Delano, California; Gianna Gemetti, Saint Francis High School, Mountain View, California; Victoria Mata, Yuma Catholic High School, Yuma, Arizona; Shaylee Verdugo, Yuma Catholic High School, Yuma, Arizona
• 2nd Place: Emilio Chapa, Escuela Carlos Pereyra, Torreón, Mexico; Logan Fisher Tejada, La Salle College Preparatory High School, Pasadena, California; Adrian Flores, Escuela Carlos Pereyra, Torreón, Mexico; Nicolas Michel, Escuela Carlos Pereyra, Torreón, Mexico; Samuel Munoz, Escuela Carlos Pereyra, Torreón, Mexico

Special Awards

Hall of Fame Award

Sebastian Ruiz Hernandez, Escuela Carlos Pereyra, Torreón, Mexico

Transformation Awards

• Krishna Arias, Colegio Ignacio Zaragoza La Salle, Saltillo, Mexico
• Carlos Bautista, Equipo Academy, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Cristian Bautista, Equipo Academy, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Isabella Carrazco, Yuma Catholic High School, Yuma, Arizona
• Natalia Castañeda Lagarda, Colegio Americano de Torreón, Torreón, Mexico
• Florence Duffy-Waldie, La Salle College Preparatory High School, Pasadena, California
• Gilberto Hernandez III, Pinole Valley High School, Pinole, California
• Eliover Herrera, Global Community High School, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Carlos Ibarra, Colegio Ignacio Zaragoza La Salle, Saltillo, Mexico
• Se Eun Kim, Colegio Americano de Torreón, Torreón, Mexico
• Victoria Mata, Yuma Catholic High School, Yuma, Arizona
• Santiago Rendon, Colegio Americano de Torreón, Torreón, Mexico

The California Sol Great Debate is made possible in part by support from State Farm, Sands Cares, and the Bezos Family Foundation.