Elizabeth (“Lizzy”) Bertelson has been thoroughly enjoying her senior year at Winterset High. She’s very proud that their marching band, the Marching Huskies, just finished up its most successful year as the defending champions for four years in a row in one contest, placing high at other competitions, and getting straight one ratings at the State competition. Lizzy says she’ll miss marching with the trombone and her sister, but is excited for college. Lizzy is very excited and proud to be playing Tzeital, the eldest daughter, in her school’s production of “The Fiddler on the Roof.” Outside of school, Lizzy is involved with 4-H and was recently reelected as President of the Shooting Stars.

But what still excites Lizzy the most is debate. She’s preparing for a November debate about health care with her sister. Additionally, in October, to rally excitement for the Presidential election, Lizzy dressed up as George Washington to talk to 6th graders about the importance of voting. Lizzy was accepted to Iowa State University and will be majoring in Fashion Design when she starts there next year.

Since Now Debate This, Fumnanya has been invited to participate in a historic strategic planning event at her school, Friends Select and was named a National Merit Commended Student and a National Achievement Semifinalist. In September, Fumnanya was asked to give an informational presentation about Now Debate This during a special high school assembly and during the presentation she showed videos that chronicled her experience. She spoke to her fellow students about the program, encouraging them to apply to Now Debate This. Delaware County News did a feature story on Fumnanya when she returned home from the program.

Andrew says he’s grateful for the friendships he developed through Now Debate This. He says he is in regular communication with his friends and fellow debaters and hopes to continue the relationships far into his adult years. Andrew is currently considering a variety of career paths and colleges, and has applied to Bryant University, University of Hartford, and Liberty University. Andrew continues to hunt for scholarships and has submitted applications to numerous programs. This winter, Andrew will be instructing snowboarding lessons at Mount Snow in Dover, VT. He is looking forward to graduating from high school this May with a 3.85 GPA.

Coming Soon...

Coming Soon...

Erika is directing two one act plays by David Ives, "English Made Simple" and "Variations on the Death of Trotsky." She is also Stage Managing the current production at her high school "Happy Daze," and is also writing the music for the show. Additionally, she is preparing for her level 10 syllabus evaluation on the piano, and is singing in Jazz and Concert Choir at her school. She just completed composing her first short piece for piano and directs children's music at her church. During her senior year, Erika is taking AP courses, is the editor of her school’s art and literary magazine. Erika is beginning to apply to colleges, and is interested in Sarah Lawrence, Ithaca, Carnegie Mellon, University of Puget Sound, Willamette, University of Oregon, and Portland State University.

Erika says she uses the skills and knowledge she gained through Now Debate This every single day. Erika says she feels so lucky to have been a part of the program, and she entered her senior year of high school ready to take on whatever challenges she’s faced with.

After the Now Debate This competition ended, Sara was happy to return home to a somewhat normal life. The experience, she says though, has changed her completely. Sara says that even now, after almost three months since the program concluded, she reminisces about her wonderful experience on the two-week discovery tour. Sara says she can barely believe all the places she visited, and she looks to the souvenirs she brought back to confirm that she had, indeed, been a part of such a life-changing opportunity. Currently, Sara is enjoying senior year, taking multiple AP classes and preparing her college applications. Sara is currently undecided about she wants to attend college. She was recognized as a Commended Finalist in the National Merit Competition and was named an AP Distinguished Scholar by the College Board.

Coming Soon...

Since Now Debate This, Sari has been keeping extremely busy during her senior year with multiple AP classes, preparing her college applications, and being captain of her school's speech and debate team. She looks forward to completing all of her college applications by December 1, so Sari can devote time to other scholarships opportunities.

Since the Now Debate This program concluded, Nyx was selected as Student of the Month by the San Pedro Rotary Club, has been inspired to grab every scholarship opportunity available, and is currently acting as a college peer counselor at her high school. Nyx plans to attend UC Berkeley next year, but is also applying to Stanford, NYU, Princeton, Adelphi, Duke, UCLA, and UCSD. She is currently aspiring to be a tri-athlete in the 2012 Olympics.

Nyx says the students she met through the program are about the coolest kids in the country; she says her fellow semi-finalists shatter standards for intelligence, are well-rounded and balanced and it makes her very proud to be part of that group. Since the program, Nyx says she sees Abraham Lincoln and George Washington everywhere.

To the 2009 contestants, Nyx offers the following advice: Don't let the rigorous workload bring you down. The teachers, directors, fellow contestants, cameramen, and everyone else involved will more than make up for it. Good luck!

Afnan says ever since the Now Debate This experience she sees things from a brighter light. Recently, Afnan has been busy applying to college, keeping up with the International Baccaulearate Program at school, and is having fun preparing for Homecoming. Afnan has been appointed to leadership roles in her school's Debate Club and Student Government, something she says Now Debate This helped her prepare for. Afnan says Now Debate This really gave her the extra push she needed to improve her public speaking skills and stage presence, and build confidence in her talents. She says she absorbed a lot of knowledge during the program and formed close friendships with her fellow semi-finalists.

Afnan was recognized by fellow debaters at her high school, and was interviewed about her involvement in Now Debate This by her school newspaper. She is currently planning a debate at her school on which the best candidate for President is. Afnan hopes to attend UCLA next year and major in Chemical Engineering or Pre-Med. She looks forward to changing the world and the lives of those living in it for the better.

Ian returned to southern New Jersey, where he was recognized as a Now Debate This semi-finalist at his high school. He’s enjoying his senior year in high school and continues to develop his history studies. Ian is very proud of his accomplishments with Now Debate This. He says placing seventh in the debate was amazing. He’s applying to Hofstra University, Georgetown, George Mason and American University.

Matt says the most interesting thing that has happened to him since Now Debate This was when he returned to his home town and commenced his senior year. Matt says walking on his high school track, hearing his name called during Senior Night for the Marching Band was a very exciting moment. He is very proud of his work with his high school’s Drumline, and says his proudest accomplishment is taking a multitude of underclassmen and crafting a talented Drumline from them.

Matt is applying to college. Currently, his top choices are University of Florida, University of Pennsylvania, Georgia Tech, and University of Miami.

Since Now Debate This, Christian has worked on his college search, getting all of his early decision college applications prepared, and applying early admission to Duke University. Christian wrote his application essay about his experience with Now Debate This and included a CD of the songs and videos he created during the program. Christian says his friends from home followed him throughout the travels and debates on the Now Debate This website. He is still making music, but reports much to the dismay of his many fans that he has not yet recorded another rap about U.S. History.

Coming Soon...

Senior year of high school started two days after David returned home from the Now Debate This adventure. David says finding out he made it on the bus with Now Debate This was a dream come true. David says he can’t express what Now Debate This means to him now without explaining how much it meant to him during the course of the program. He says the experience was the truly amazing part, but the road he and each student traveled to become one of the sixteen semi-finalists meant infinitely more than the competition of a single day.

David is looking forward to a trip to France this spring, which he’s proudly paying for himself with the stipend he received last summer from the program. David was featured in his local newspaper and he’s received congratulations from people in his community and school. This school year, David is planning on doing Youth Legislature and Model Security Council. And of course, he’s continuing his study of debate. David is applying to colleges, and undoubtedly has a very bright future.