Schaumburg High School Debate Team wins state championship
Schaumburg High School Debate Team students are celebrating a successful season that ended with earning the title of state champions for the third time in four years.
The 2015 IHSA Debate State Congressional Championship team competed against more than 200 students from more than 25 schools. After an elimination break, the competition was narrowed to 63 competitors. Sixteen students advanced to the final round and Schaumburg students made up five of those finalists.
The team consists of seniors Melissa Tran, Kimberly Jimenez, Kruti Merchant, Shraddha Patel, Rebecca Lii and Valeria Gololobova; juniors Srini Cherukuri and Karolina Skarzynska; and sophomores Kshitij Vashi and Sarah Liu.
Darrell Robin, head debate coach and an English teacher at the school, said a common strength throughout the years has been four-year debaters on the team.
Representing the team in the final round of the Congressional debate was team captain Tran. She argued whether or not there should be a resolution that allows the country to negotiate ransom amounts on kidnapped citizens.
"I always knew Melissa could do it; she finally believed it also," Robin said. "These seniors are humble introverts who used debate as a mechanism to help find their voice. It was for this reason that Melissa and many of her teammates joined the team four years ago."
In debate, there are three divisions in which Schaumburg competes: Congressional, Lincoln-Douglas, and Public Forum. Schaumburg won second place in Lincoln-Douglas Debate (Philosophical Debate) this year with seniors Nathaniel Leonhardt, Ameel Sheth, Sarah Bier and sophomore Hannah Hyman.
The team also reached the semifinal berth in Public Forum Debate with the help of juniors Craig Soares, Cole Miller, Jessica D'Souza, Raza Haque, senior Zohra Tabassum, and sophomore Adrian Chendra. Raza Haque, who helped the team win state last year, was also named the captain of the All-State Debate Team for Public Forum.
Schaumburg High School is the only high school in Illinois that has ever won the IHSA Debate State Championship in all three divisions.
Team coaches include Carl Schwartz, associate debate coach and Schaumburg High School special education teacher, and former students Brook Leonhardt ('13), Elisa Galvan ('11), Safia Kazi ('10) and Sam Haque ('09).
Mike Sellergren, a former Barrington High School student who was coached by Robin, Mike Knitter, freshmen supervisor, and Nancy Israel, Dundee-Crown English teacher, also coach twice a week.
The team was recognized for its accomplishments by the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 Board of Education at its April 9 meeting.