Policy Debate has been a passion of mine since the eight grade. Even three years later, I am fascinated by the activity's incorporation of competition, fun, and education. The art of debate has existed for thousands of years, yet the emergence of Policy Debate can be attributed to the year 1830s, when Wake Forest started the first competetive Policy Debate Team. Since a century and a half ago, Policy Debate has skyrocketed in membership. Numerous colleges nationwide, ranging from small to large, host policy debate programs and engage in competition in circuits such as the National Debate Tournament or Cross Examination Debate Association. In addition to colleges, Policy Debate has found itself a home in middle and high schools across the country. Private schools such as Westminster, Greenhill, Montgomery Bell, and Woodward offer lucrative policy debate programs and public schools such as Milton, Niles West, Northview, Chattahoochee, and Niles North provide a spectacular place for competitive debaters.

One of the most rewarding aspects of engaging in Policy Debate is the supplemental education. Research is a core tenet of policy debate and thus an average policy debater is exposed to various fields ranging from climate change science to nuclear proliferation to public health care crisis. Current Events and General Knowledge are the foundations of policy debate and are usually developed over the course of the activity. In-round education, which is provided through engaging in competitive debate, can be especially rewarding for teams which are too focused on some key issues. Debating other teams can often offer a new perspective into issues or raise new ones which may demand more research.

There remain few extracurricular activities which provide such quality, well rounded education than that of Policy Debate. There are even fewer opportunities which provide a basis for enhancing public speaking and confidence. Policy Debate encourages participants to step out of their comfort zone and express their ideas, however controversial, in front of a panel of judges and against opponents who are all likely to be strangers. Often times rebuttals in policy debate are subject to deep interest as a debater has to often employ deep critical thinking skills and evoke immense eloquence in order to convince the judge to vote a certain way. Such an experience is helpful for a wide range of opportunities, and should certainly not be missed to be developed.