Written by Katherine Xue

Hello everyone, and Happy belated Halloween! As the first quarter of school and September/October tournaments come to a close, we’re back with another Student Leader Feature to celebrate the amazing people who make up our Potomac Debate community. 

This week, meet Student Coach Aaron Tian—an enjoyer of volleyball, photography, and new foods, who you can often find listening to The Weekend, NIKI, and Grentperez. He’s currently a senior at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, and has been debating with Potomac for almost seven years. Aside from being a very decorated debater—with 15 bids, a top 10 nationwide ranking, a few tournament championships and podium placements—he’s also one of the members on the USA Debate Team. 

Aaron’s had a lot of fun — “So far, we’ve had our first training event at the Greenhill Fall Classic…our second training event in Montreal with Team Canada, and we’re currently preparing for our first international tournament, EurOpen, in Germany.” Outside of getting to travel and explore new places, which Aaron loves to do, he’s also had an intense learning experience. Team USA competes in the World Schools Debate format, which differs in many ways from Public Forum—for example, it’s a three-on-three style between Proposition and Opposition teams, with different speech times and formats. As an experienced Public Forum debater, Aaron notes that “learning World Schools has been very different from what I’m used to in PF, both stylistically and content-wise, but I’ve been enjoying learning the new format.”

Across various debate formats, partners, and tournaments, he’s picked up a few pieces of advice for younger debaters. 

First, don’t burn out. He emphasized that there is much more to debate than just wins, losses, and constant preparation. “Enjoy the process because one day it’ll all be over. The people you meet and the community you are in will be much more memorable at the end of the day.” In addition to falling in love with the process, Aaron stressed the importance of finding a motivation to debate. “For a while, I felt like I was floating through tournaments, since I had done the same thing almost on repeat for years now. Then, I set my sights on taking my debate career to the next level altogether (both through Team USA and through being a coach), and I’ve felt much more engaged in the activity ever since.”

His second piece of advice was to never neglect the importance of teamwork, whether in Public Forum, World Schools, or any other format. “Don’t only focus on your development, work together and think as a team. The best debate teams have a special bond and connection, most of the time they aren’t just individually talented; partners compliment each other.”

On the topic of enjoying the process, Aaron shared one of his fondest memories of a bold outfit choice while he was debating at the Harvard Round Robin. “I decided to wear a bright red Chinese New Year sweater the whole tournament since we were reading a ‘race war’ Kritikal affirmative. The funny part, however, was that I ended up debating the semifinals round in front of 50 debaters who just arrived from China, which made the fashion choice a little funny and awkward.” Although embarrassing in the moment, it’s truly moments like these that make this activity unforgettable. 

Aaron’s journey is an example of how far teamwork, dedication, and a love for “the game” can take you, and we are so glad to have him in the Potomac family. One thing’s for certain—we’ll be cheering him on through the rest of his time with Team USA! That’s all for this feature—stay tuned for more spotlights on our student leadership team.