It was 2023 at the World of Words Institute camp, hosted annually at Coppell High School every summer. CHS sophomore Sidharta De’s 13-year-old self was ecstatic when he found out his closing World Schools debate topic would be on Marvel.

“We were going through a lot of different types of topics,” De said. “I actually knew about Marvel. I love that World Schools isn’t just about extensive policy knowledge, and it can also be about something like Marvel and it still applies to debate.”

While his Marvel experience encouraged his love for debate, it truly began with his older sister, Anushree.

“My parents saw this transformative shift debate had on her, and I had different issues with my speaking as well,” De said.

As a child, he struggled with putting his thoughts into words. In an effort to see if debate could help him channel his thoughts, De followed in Anushree’s footsteps and joined the Coppell Debate Academy in middle school.

“He didn’t really like it as much as me at first, I think,” said Anushree, a 2024 CHS graduate and University of Texas at Austin sophomore. “It felt very much like he’s doing it because I used to do it. I was always like, ‘maybe he’ll quit after a while, and that’s fine.’”

Over time, Sidharta’s increasing exposure to debate made him want to start taking it seriously outside of familial influence.

“I remember he called me one night and he said, ‘Didi, I love debate.’ You are, for a second, so removed from the world. You’re only thinking about debate, and it’s such a wonderful feeling. To see him finally understand what that feels like was beautiful,” Anushree said.

Sidharta’s dedication to debate is apparent through recent achievements. Recently, he was selected as one of 12 people from a pool of more than 100,000 to represent the USA Development Team for World Schools, after being part of the youngest team from Coppell to qualify for the state tournament last year.

“At the moment I got accepted, I was honestly on the verge of tears,” Sidharta said, “I was jumping on trampolines in the back of my head. I was extremely excited.”

The USA Development Team is no small commitment. Designed to prepare students for Team USA, the best debate team in the nation, the program gives members the opportunity to compete alongside the best World Schools debaters in the world. 

“This is a national team, so we’re not just talking about him being one of the best debaters in Texas, but one of the best young debaters across the country,” Coppell debate coach SunHee Simon said. “He’s very stylistically strong, so he’s very easy to follow along. Judges really appreciate that from him.”

For Sidharta, getting selected for Team Dev validated years of practice and growth.

“In the summer between eighth and ninth grade, I just applied because my sister was on Team Texas,” Sidharta said. “After I got the rejection letter in ninth grade, I was really bummed, and that sort of inspired me to focus on debate a lot more in freshman year.”

Sidharta attributes his success in debate to prior rejections. 

“I knew what rejection felt like, and I didn’t want to feel that way again. It sort of instilled a burning passion in me to do better,” Sidharta said.

That drive continues to shape Sidharta’s character in debate and the classroom.

“Wherever he goes and whatever he does, he really has the sense of authenticity and truly being a good person and putting his all wherever he goes,” sophomore Rohan Jain said. “I really admire that about him.”

Regardless of whether Sidharta is preparing speeches or stealing pens from his teammates, those around him agree that his passion for debate is unmistakable.

“When he goes up to speak, he’s confident, he’s composed, and that, coupled with his amazing content and refutation, is truly what makes him an amazing debater,” Jain said. “He’s done so much. The only way to go now is up.”

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