SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio teen has been selected to be a member of the USA National Debate Team.
Years of preparation and dedication has led Anish Beeram to this moment.
“I remember hearing, ‘Would you like to debate on behalf of the USA?’ And I was I think, I lost my mind a little bit,” Beeram said.
The senior at TMI Episcopal was chosen from thousands of debaters from across the country to represent USA at the competitions.
“I’m really, really excited and honored and very grateful for the chance to be able to debate at this level,” Beeram said.
Beeram said he started his debate journey in middle school, but his interest grew during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Although that brought some challenges, it didn’t stop Beeram from reaching his goal.
“Because of the pandemic, I think we went through four or five debate coaches. So, I actually went through a period of about a year and a half where we didn’t actually have a coach or we didn’t have a teacher. So, I’m primarily self-taught as a debater from YouTube and from various online resources,” Beeram said.
Beeram’s mother, Dr. Amita Patnaik is filled with pride and joy.
“Not only has he acquired sort of the intellectual knowledge base, but he has essentially kind of come into his own. He’s really blossomed through debate and become this individual who is self-sufficient,” Patnaik said.
“We just couldn’t be prouder. And we’ve done everything we can to support his participation in this and on Team USA, above all,” Fred Kountz, Head of Upper School at TMI Episcopal said.
“I’m really, really grateful to my parents and everyone who’s been there to help me to learn about the economy or politics or how to deliver speech for three minutes without stuttering and tripping all over myself,” Beeram said.
Beeram has participated in about 50 debate tournaments across the country and he looks forward to possibly competing in Vietnam next year.
“Five of the 12 were selected to go to Vietnam in the summer to compete at the World School Debating Championship, which is like the debate Olympics,” Beeram said.
Beeram has dreams of going into law or business. For now, he’s a teen with a passion for debate.
“It feels really incredible. It’s been one of my dreams for a very long time to be able to debate for my school, my state, my nation internationally,” Beeram said.
Beeram and the members of the USA National Debate Team will participate in about 10-15 tournaments.
Their next tournament is on Wednesday in Mexico City.