Winner of the Top Speaker Awards

Central High School Senior Sean Easterwood of Kansas City won the Top Speaker award at the first Chase Urban Debate National Championship. In the process he earned a $2,500 scholarship that he will use to attend the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the fall. The scholarship was provided through the generosity of Holland & Knight LLP.

Sean said after the tournament, “It was cool and exciting. The scholarship is going to be a big help and I like being the first-ever top speaker at the Urban Debate Championship.” Sean’s coach, Jane Rinehart, added, “Sean has worked so hard to come this far. To see him win this honor was one of the season’s biggest thrills.” Sean’s partner, Dashawnta Brunson noted, “He deserved it. We have fun debating together, we’ve learned a lot and this weekend was a great experience.”

Andrew Brokos, the Boston UDL's Director, judged Sean at the tournament and commented on his dominating style, “He was charismatic and principled. He had all the skills.”

Sean’s accomplishment at the Chase=2 0National Championship evoked enthusiastic recognition of his abilities, his coach's mentorship, and his school's support from the Kansas City Mayor and City Council who passed a resolution in their honor: “Resolved: That the Mayor and Council hereby congratulate the Central High School Debate Team and Sean Easterwood on their success at the first annual National Association for Urban Debate Leagues national tournament.”

Sean pursued debate for its transformative intellectual benefits. He commented, “You see the walls of this school. Debate is the place to reach outside these walls. There are no limits. You can gain the knowledge to do the stuff of CEO’s, policymakers, doctors and lawyers,” adding, “My motivation is not success. We [the debaters] share how we feel. We go in with our will and our ideas, and we come out with respect.”

Sean's coach, Jane Reinhart, said of Sean. “He’s so focused. Students here are very competitive. It becomes personal.”

Both teams from DEBATE-Kansas City reached the quarter-finals of the championship, and each of the other three debaters also received speaker awards.