I started coming for the Kigali Debate league in 2015 and it wasn't a very fun experience the fist time. I was part of the debate club at school and we used to get trainings by Abdul Razack who helped us become better together with the leadership of the club. The Kigali Debate league for me was a moment I was excited for every third Saturday of the month it had a competitive atmosphere of course where we had to sleep sleepless nights to prepare the best plans and fill the team spirit but also there was a family/friendly vibe. As I mentioned earlier the first time wasn't the best because I and my team messed up but with the encouragements of the judges and the continuous development of the competition our interest didn't stop and we loved the experience up to now.

Growing up, I was a very shy girl. That said, I was always curious and open to learning new things. I studied in French up until I was 15 years old and I had to change schools and enrolled at Gashora Girls Academy. When I got there, I was so intimidated by all the well spoken girls in my class and then I decided that I needed to learn English and learn how to speak up for myself too. That is how I ended up in the school debate club and started as a researcher. Eventually our debate coach encouraged me to be part of the debate team and I bought into it. While in the debate club, I learned how to research, articulate arguments from the findings, think critically, speak in public and made lifetime friends who challenge me to become a better person. These skills have come in handy in life and especially now that I am in college. I am grateful for it. I started debating as a way to learn English and now it has become a lifestyle.

Debate for me has increased my critical thinking, confidence, curiosity, my social and political awareness, and my engagement in issues beyond my life. It has also boosted my intellectual humility through the continuous experience of deconstructing beliefs and ideas I originally took for granted, which not only improved my social consciousness but also my appreciation for different beliefs and ideas. My involvement in idebate still affects the way I live my life today. Debate has highly influenced my choice of major and internships. For instance, my previous work experience was about assisting countries in East Africa to well-position themselves in negotiating their trade interests at the World Trade Organization, an experience I highly enjoyed and learned from due to my involvement with idebate. Idebate not only gave us a platform to debate important issues but also increased our capacity to construct solid arguments through workshops and training programs. Most notably, however, I am forever grateful that through debate, I became passionate about finding solutions to problems beyond my own.