Senior Lincoln-Douglas debater Rachael Harris just won a scholarship from the local VFW. We sat down with her to get the details on both the season and the scholarship.

What is the award you won?

I won the Post Level of a VFW scholarship that I entered. It’s called the Voice of Democracy. The topic was “Why My Vote Matters,” so I wrote about that.

How did you find out about this scholarship?

I was just researching scholarships, and one for the VFW came up. I think I just typed in “scholarships” or something. I saw one for the VFW, and I know my grandfather is a member of the VFW, so I would be able to apply to one. It turns out that you don’t need that. You can just apply. — Oh wait, maybe I looked up “political science” or “speech and debate” scholarships. I that’s what happened. I looked up speech and debate scholarships and there was an oratorical contest, which came in second place. For this one, I was like “oh, this is political science.”

What did you have to do to enter the contest?

I had to write an essay, I had to fill out an application, and I had to record myself reading the essay. I had to stop at the Post to turn in the essay.

How do you think your Speech and Debate experience helped you win this award, or do you think it was completely separate of that that you won?

My speech and debate experience definitely helped for many reasons. One, I know a lot more about politics than I did before. And that’s just the nature of debate and the type of debate that I’ve done. I know more about voting, and I know how my feedback impacts the government, especially because we’ve done topics like that. And right before that, we did the topic on the right to know and whether or not that outweighs the candidate’s right to privacy, so we talked a lot about voters and what voters want and how voter’s opinions can impact things in the government. So that was really cool. When I was reading the essay, it definitely helped because I’ve learned to develop more of a “speech voice.” My fluency has gone up, so I’ve gained basic debate skills as well as specific event skills.

Do you think the skills from writing this essay and speaking this essay helped with debate, instead of the other way around?

I don’t know that the essay helped my debate skills. I really feel that it was the first way where debate helped with the essay.

How did you find out that you won, and what did you win?

They called me while I was at the Hampton at NA tournament, and they left a voicemail because I couldn’t answer because I was in the middle of a round. They told me that I won the Post Level, so I think — I’m going to look into this — they submit it to the regional level next, but I don’t know if it only went to the Post Level so far. I’m hoping they sent it to the regional level, because they just found out to tell me. They told me I won a monetary prize, which is a scholarship, but they didn’t tell me how much. They told me “If you had to wear a sweatshirt, what size sweatshirt would you wear? We’re going to send you a sweatshirt.” And then I get to go to a banquet in April, where I get to read my essay to the VFW Post.

Would you recommend that current juniors to enter this contest next year? Are you glad that you entered it?

Oh, I’m 100% glad that I entered it because even though I had done research for it indirectly through debate, I still had to do direct research for it and look some stuff up, and through that I gained a little more knowledge than I would have as a student and a debater about voting and voter feedback and things like that, so I really think that it is a beneficial scholarship to enter. All you have to do is write an essay and read it, which is not the hardest thing in the world. Pro-tip to juniors: apply for as many scholarships as you can.

Is there anything else you want to add about debate or about the scholarship?

If you know any debaters, wish them luck. Qualifying tournaments are coming up, and the season is coming to an end. If you have not ever joined the Speech and Debate team, it is an experience that I highly recommend for so many reasons. It is definitely a life-changing experience. Even if you are just thinking about it, go to an informational meeting or come to a practice once just to see what it’s like.