Charles Flowers Debate Captain Emmanuel Makinde has been named a one of eight Finalists for the National Urban Debater of the Year award. The award, given out by the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues, recognizes the student that best combined competitive excellence, resilience, character, and leadership in the debate community, and comes with a scholarship.
Emmanuel is the reigning recipient of the Matthew Harris Ornstein Outstanding Debater Award, one of the highest awards available for a WUDL Debater, and has been a leader both at his school, Charles Flowers, and for our intellectual community as a whole.
From Natalie Bennie, who was his lab leader this past summer:
“This is the 17th summer debate institute lab that I have led, and Emmanuel ranks among the best students I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with, his attitude, teamwork, and dedication to scholarship make him a clear recipient for this nomination…..he was encouraging and jovial to all, despite the remote learning environment….I had one-on-one conferences with each student to talk about their goals…..(Emmanuel)”I want to qualify for nationals, but since I’m team captain this year, my biggest goal is just to have somebody on the team qualify and to teach younger debaters the skills they need to lead the team once I’m gone.” That short answer showed me that Emmanuel truly understands what it means to be a leader. This level of humility and commitment to education is rare in a high school student.”