Trinidad and Tobago

National Director of Trinidad and Tongo

I am Victoria Knowles and I am very excited to be the Outreach Debate National Branch Leader for Trinidad and Tobago, a small island in the Caribbean. I have had a passion for debate since my sophomore year when I founded The Speech and Debate Club at my high school. Moving into my third academic year being the President of this club I have learned the responsibility it takes to be a leader who guides others while also being a team player, I have built my communication skills, problem solving skills, and planning skills. In the beginning my club started with debates solely within the club, then we moved on to competing in competitions against other local schools, and we won said competitions. This year, we joined the National Speech and Debate Association and hope to compete in international competitions in the future. However, all in all the most fulfilling experience for me has been seeing my members' confidence and speaking improve over the years as they have felt empowered to speak up. Debate is not a very widespread activity in Trinidad or even in the Caribbean which is why I plan to work with Outreach Debate’s team in order to get more Carribean Islands involved in debate in order to create a Carribean Branch. I also look forward to helping create resources that can be used by members around the world as they build their knowledge on speech and debate. Looking forward to a great year ahead!