“Go out of your comfort zone and build up your confidence.”

Devansh Sharma: “I’ve been in speech and debate since my freshman year and my event is Original Advocacy, which is a Prepared Speech event. It’s an event where you advocate for a certain change by proposing a piece of legislation to Congress. This year, my speech is about preventing ageism in the workplace. In the beginning, my mom sort of forced me to join speech and debate in middle school, and I did two summer camps at DV. I joined speech in high school a little hesitantly, but I quickly made lasting friendships that inspire me to continue. You spend a lot of time with friends, and going through so much with them strengthens your friendships a lot. But, the main challenge that I had to overcome was my anxiety of tournaments. I used to lack confidence and always compare myself to others and wonder why I couldn’t be as good as them, but I eventually realized that I can improve based on the work that I put in. However, I gradually became more comfortable, and the more tournaments I went to, the more I began to like them. It’s taught me to be comfortable with myself and confident in my abilities.”