Written by Katherine Xue

Hey PDA Fam! With phenomenal performances during February tournaments (including the recent Harvard invitational, which our students absolutely DEMOLISHED!), we’re back once again with another feature of our student leadership. She’s one of our captains, whose journey with Potomac Debate spans a decade. 

Captain Alisha Durbhakula is a senior at Winston Churchill High School, and has been with Potomac ever since she was a fourth-grade novice in 2016. A decade later, as a high school senior, she’s a national circuit competitor, captain of both PDA and the Churchill Debate Team, and is heading off to Northwestern University, where she plans to major in biology on the pre-med track. 

Her introduction to debate actually started at home. “I started debate because my older brothers had been part of PDA and found it a really educating and confidence-building activity.” For her brothers, debate strengthened both their public speaking skills and knowledge about real-world conflicts, allowing them to build lasting relationships with their peers. Naturally, Alisha followed in their footsteps—”Having brothers as debaters definitely made me improve, as watching their rounds pushed me to be a better speaker.”

Of course, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Since Alisha began debating nearly a decade ago, she got used to the traditional argumentation of the circuit, most of which focused solely on topic-based arguments. To her, adapting to new progressive arguments—like Kritiks and theory—was one of the toughest transitions she’s faced. But even in the face of tough rounds and arguments, she has her own little ritual: “Before a round, I love to drink a Starbucks cold brew and listen to music, especially Drake, to hype myself up.”

Alisha has also experienced some moments you just can’t make up. 

During a virtual tournament, Alisha and her partner were in the bubble round—which would determine whether or not they would make it to elimination rounds. Obviously, the stress was high. But instead of debating, her competitors had a better idea. “Our opponents wanted to play the Snake game to figure out who would win the round and not actually have a debate round.”

Safe to say, that’s one conflict resolution strategy that we haven’t taught yet here at Potomac Debate Academy. But maybe we’ll implement it soon?

Regardless, Alisha has plenty of hobbies to keep herself busy outside of debate. She teaches and participates in Indian dance and is an active member of her high school’s Model UN team. A high school senior in her second semester, she has been enjoying spending her time with family and friends. Finally, Alisha’s also a self-proclaimed foodie—”I love to cook and try new restaurants!”

Alisha’s story highlights all of the different roles our Potomac students take on—she might be a debater, but she’s a dancer, a culinary expert, a sister, and an aspiring doctor too. Throughout the past decade, Alisha has grown from a novice elementary school student to a flourishing high school senior, and we’re so proud to have had her as a part of PDA throughout!

That’s all for this week—see you at the next feature!