2008-06-01
PDI Alumna Wins National Championship
Appleton, WI–The Catholic Forensics League held its annual Grand National Championships in Appleton, WI over this past Memorial Day weekend. While many PDI Alumni qualified to the tournament, one alumna emerged victorious. Indeed, Ellen Noble ‘07, was named the National Champion after defeating a competitor from Texas on a 3-2 decision in the final round.
Ellen, a junior at Walt Whitman High School in Maryland, finished a highly successful season at the Grand Nationals. Ellen qualified to the prestigious Tournament of Champions, and participated in many special round robin tournaments. In April, she participated in the First Annual Perspectives Round Robin.
Ellen attended the third edition of the Philadelphia Debate Institute, which was held this past summer at the George School in Newton, PA. At the institute, she was a member of Matt Scarola and Conor Mayo-Wilson’s lab group. Scarola, who will return to PDI this summer, was the runner-up at the 2004 CFL Grand National Tournament.
Other PDI alumni who attended the tournament include Karlyn Gorski (’05, ‘06, ‘07), Lisa Kapp (’06) and Alex Koren (’06, ‘07), who will be a Senior Fellow at this year’s PDI. Perspectives is very proud of its first National Champion, as well as all of the other students who competed!
The Philadelphia Debate Institute is a week-long, residential summer program held August 17-24, 2008 at Drexel University, that brings together students for intensive debate preparation. Now in its 4th year, PDI is the #1 nonprofit Lincoln-Douglas debate program in the country. Graduating students from the 2005 and 2006 PDI earned half a million dollars in college scholarships in 2007, and100% of program alum are currently enrolled in 4-year. In 2007, 36 students from 23 schools in 6 states attended. For 2008, the institute expects to bring together 56 students and 18 faculty members for a life-changing experience.
The Philadelphia Debate Institute is the signature program of Perspectives Debate Incorporated, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit that seeks to promote high school debate education.
###
Perspectives is a Philadelphia-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization promoting youth debate education. Students who debate dramatically increase their reading comprehension, critical thinking, and public speaking skills. In the process, debate becomes a forum to foster youth achievement and civic responsibility. Perspectives has worked with over 400 students in 8 states through afterschool, summer, and special events. www.philadebate.org