2026 Texas Star Great Debate, with focus on family traditions, ‘had a lot of heart’

Our Lady of the Lake University once again served as host for the Texas Star Great Debate, the first of the six-day Great Debates for NHI in 2026. With close to 100 students attending from across Texas, plus contingents from Querétaro, Mexico and from Puerto Rico, the San Antonio campus rippled with energy throughout the week. 

“This program had a lot of heart between the staff and the kids,” said Natalia Chapa Mills, co-educational director for the program. “One theme that I kept hearing over and over again was how much they love the program and how close they felt to everybody in the program, and also just I think one thing that they came away with was just tying it back to family and finding family stories that they can kind of share and build upon.” 

Because the theme of this Great Debate had to do with family — specifically, something you want to keep from your family, something you want to change, and something that you want to recreate — students were reaching out to family members back home and then sharing those stories with their fellow students. 

Chapa Mills noted that this was a special edition of the Our Lady of the Lake University-hosted event because her fellow co-educational director, Paul Martinez IV, had his father — Paul Martinez III, an OLLUSA graduate — serve as keynote speaker to the opening session. 

For participants, the program provided opportunities to develop their skills and to grow. 

“I experienced so much throughout the six days,” said Jacqueline Gonzalez, a student at TCC South Collegiate High School in Fort Worth, Texas, who was part of the winning Athenaeum team. “I definitely learned how to communicate, which was my goal. I learned how to think better, communicate better, and be a better public speaker.” 

“I learned that I’m very good being in a group and connecting with people,” added Sarah Oppong, who also attends TCC South Collegiate High School. 

Unlike the four-day Great Debates, in which NHI students form teams and work together for months before competing, six-day Great Debate students are drafted onto teams during their first day on campus and have to quickly come together to determine their competition categories and then prepare for the speech and debate contests. 

Award winners included: 

Extemporaneous Speaking

First Place: Roman Montes de Oca Campos, John F. Kennedy, The American School of Querétaro. Querétaro, México

Second Place: Aniya Cross, TCC South Collegiate HS, Fort Worth, Texas

All-State: Sofia Rincon, St. John’s School, Houston, Texas

Oratory

First Place: Milo Narvaez, International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Lamar Academy, McAllen, Texas

Second Place: Sara Cantú Treviño, IDEA Weslaco Pike College Preparatory, Weslaco, Texas

All-State: Julian Betancourt, Colegio San Ignacio De Loyola, San Juan, Puerto Rico

First Place: Samuel Vivares, Shadow Creek HS, Pearland, Texas, and Cassie Chavez, Jubilee San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas

Cross Examination

First Place: Samuel Vivares, Shadow Creek HS, Pearland, Texas, and Cassie Chavez, Jubilee San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas

Second Place: Bella Barba, International Baccalaureate (IB) Program at Lamar Academy, McAllen, Texas, and Jimena Gama, IDEA Edinburg College Preparatory, Edinburg, Texas

All-State Leader: Ali Lopez, Mathis HS, Mathis, Texas

All-State Member: Vanessa Vargas, Jubilee Lake View University Prep, San Antonio, Texas

Athenaeum

First Place: Jacqueline Gonzalez, TCC South Collegiate HS, Fort Worth, Texas, Eva Bradham, R.L. Paschal HS, Fort Worth, Texas, and Kristen Tejeiro, Harmony School of Excellence, Laredo, Texas

Second Place: Cusha Pesca, Jubilee San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, Regina Morales, Eagle Pass HS, Eagle Pass, Texas, and Alondra Callis-Flores, Jubilee San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas

Third Place: Caleb Belyeu, W. B. Ray HS, Corpus Christi, Texas, Isabelle Almanza, Southwest HS, Fort Worth, Texas, and Sarah Oppong, TCC South Collegiate HS, Fort Worth, Texas

All-State: Ethan Rubalcaba, Shadow Creek HS, Pearland, Texas, Daveon Garza, Mathis HS, Mathis, Texas, and Valentina Peña, The John Cooper School, The Woodlands, Texas

The Texas Star Great Debate is made possible in part by support from the Bezos Family Foundation and State Farm.

Brooke Perez contributed to reporting on this story.