Natalie Wang is standing on the stage. Adrenaline is flowing and she’s trying to figure out what to say next. She’s enjoying the rush and using her head.

“It’s like riding a roller coaster,” Wang said.

Wang’s parents didn’t grow up in the United States and didn’t have the opportunity to attend a club like speech and debate. Wang appreciates the fact that she has a chance to participate. She believes speech and debate teach you how to use your brain to solve problems and “ride the highs and lows.”

To get better at debate, Wang suggests practice.

“If you super love debate, one way to get good at it is to go to summer camp. I went to camp this summer.”

Wang  has won a couple of tournaments and thinks that one of the hardest parts of speech and debate is the partnership.

“It’s really important what debate you do. Some debates have partners and sometimes partnerships don’t work out … or sometimes you put in a lot of work but you just feel like your partner isn’t. There are a lot of interpersonal situations that happen and you want learn how to deal with them accordingly. I think it’s just part of the process and it’s really rewarding.”

Wang enjoys talking about the effects of debate in her life.

“Speech and debate is super instrumental in my life,” Wang said. “Believe it or not, I used to be pretty shy and I was afraid to show my real personality, especially to people I didn’t know, but getting into speech and debate really made me more extroverted and has had a really positive effect on my life.” “

Wang is a captain this year at speech and debate and her goal is to develop great leadership and learn how to teach well. She also really likes to inspire people and be a good role model in people’s lives.

“I think that words have an emotional effect. There was this quote that I really liked. It said that people may not remember the things you said or the words you used, but they will remember how special you made them feel. I’d really like to have that positive influence on people,” said Wang.