Shi ‘14 Debates at Worlds

Most people get nervous when they find themselves on stage, speaking in front of hundreds of other people. They tremble, sweat and get butterflies in their stomach. This is not the case, however, for senior Hansen Shi, who recently traveled to Lithuania to compete in the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships, also referred to as “Worlds.”Shi was the previous co-head of the Daniel Webster Debate Society, and qualified for Worlds after placing 1st at a tournament hosted by St. Paul’s in the fall. The last Exonian to qualify for the prestigious international competition was Michael Ambler ‘09.He found Worlds to be a valuable learning experience. “Worlds was a truly culturally enriching experience for me: I had the opportunity to meet so many amazingly talented people from such a variety of places. I also had no idea Lithuania was such an awesome place,” Shi said.Shi joined the Debate Club his first year at Exeter, and since then, the club has greatly impacted him. “It's impossible for me to overstate the indispensable role the Daniel Webster Debate Society played in developing and sharpening my critical thinking and rhetorical skills,” he said. “I joined the team as a lower and have never received any training outside of DWDS. And as my role in the club changed from team member to leader over the years, I've been blessed with the opportunity to oversee this change in others as well,” he added.Members of the Debate Club are aware of Shi’s leadership and praised his abilities. “Not only is he one of the most highly achieving debaters but he is a role model and mentor to many of our debaters,” current debate co-head, upper Hersh Bhargava said.Senior Shannon Hou commented on Shi’s strong logic skills as a debater. “Hansen is very calm, yet logical. Often you see some debaters end up being aggressive and have a great speaking style but Hansen usually wins debates because he’s very logical and is able to pick apart his opponents’ arguments very carefully,” she said.Shi is looking forward to debating in college. “DWDS [Daniel Webster Debate Society] taught me everything I know about debate and that's the end of it. Anyone who wants to learn how to speak should join.”