Denver High Schoolers Overcome Language Barrier to Thrive in Debate

Public speaking is terrifying for many people. But standing at a podium debating in your second language? That sounds like a nightmare.

But for Ruby Trejo Ontiveros and Alliton Flores Sanchez, that’s just a typical weekend.

The two rising seniors at York International School in Denver are native Spanish speakers.

Trejo Ontiveros was born in Florida but lived in Mexico until she returned to the United States five years ago. Flores Sanchez was born in Mexico before immigrating to the U.S. as a child. They had to learn English quickly to adapt to life in Denver and are now competing in English-language debates.

Their coach, Josh Hirsch, said both students are “unbelievably intelligent,” “completely extraordinary” and gifted debaters.

Hirsch said Trejo Ontiveros is “probably the most grounded human being in the school.”

“She’s kind, she’s compassionate, she cares about people, she’s articulate, she’s intelligent,” he said.

He described Flores Sanchez as a “powerhouse” who will make an incredible lawyer one day.

After participating in the public debate at the Newsweek office on April 14, both debaters spoke with Newsweek about their experiences debating in their second language.

How did you get started in debate?

Trejo Ontiveros: I started debate last year when I was a sophomore. I was doing a program in summer for school. My coach told me to join the league. I already had heard about debate because of Alliton because she was my friend and she was doing [debate]. So I was like, “Yeah.” I was doing it in the fall to see how it goes. And then when I started going through a practice of hers, I was like, “Wow,” because it was a lot. I started liking debate. So now I’m here. I like how competitive it is, like everyone in a round, everyone has to understand both sides. I like [that] we have to see both sides of the story.

Flores Sanchez: I love talking a lot [so] my coach invited me to join speech and debate. I started at the end of 2021. I love how competitive it was. I tried speech first and everyone was nice, but I wanted more challenging stuff, so I tried debate.

Alliton Flores Sanchez delivers her speech during a debate on U.S. immigration policy at the A Mightier Tomorrow event to kick off Newsweek’s partnership with the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues in New York City on April 14. Flores Sanchez says debates like these “could help [other Spanish-speaking students] improve their English to help them improve their conversation with other people.” Jackie Molloy for Newsweek

What impact has debate had on you?

Flores Sanchez: It helped me with organizing, which I’m not really good at. Debate taught me how to advocate, be confident [and] get even better at school.

Trejo Ontiveros: I think a big impact is like, now if I’m having a conversation with someone, I feel more confident doing it. At first, I was really kind of shy or I didn’t want to express my ideas with someone, and now I just enjoy [talking]. Also in other situations, like friendship or something like that, [if] there’s a problem going on, I get both sides. For school, I see myself more as a person who will respond to questions the teacher asks. If I’m doing a project with people [who] don’t talk a lot, I feel more confident because I’m able to express the ideas that I have now.

Did you have trouble expressing yourself before debate?

Trejo Ontiveros: I actually did kind of struggle at it. Debate helped me organize my thoughts to express to other people. And it gave me confidence. It also helped me a lot discuss with people about topics where we really disagree so we can see both sides.

Why should teenagers and young people be engaging with such serious topics like immigration, artificial intelligence, affirmative action or climate change?

Trejo Ontiveros: If we don’t do anything about it, it won’t change. So I think [by getting] a little bit of education about it, they can at least understand a little bit about it. When they grow up, I think they will understand more about it and try to make a difference for the future.

Flores Sanchez: I think a lot of teenagers are not taught about the controversies that can really put their future at risk and it’s really important, like climate change, racism, things people are going through. Those are some important factors that teenagers should be worrying about because as we grow up, we can make a big difference in the future. We can become the next president!

What is it like competing in debate in English, your second language?

Trejo Ontiveros: At first there [were] a lot of words that I really didn’t understand, because it was kind of complicated. So I searched [for] the definitions and started learning them. It was a lot of work because I was really not that good having even a conversation in English. So that helped me a lot because now I can have a good conversation with someone in English—I’m better.

Flores Sanchez: The most challenging part of English being my second language is mixing up Spanish and English words all the time. Me and my [debate] partner [will] talk in cross-examination rounds in Spanish and we’ll go back to English again. People would not know what we were saying. It’s mostly the advanced words that were really hard. We started to get to know more about what those words mean.

These events could help [other Spanish-speaking students] improve their English to help them improve their conversation with other people. Communication is important, since it’s something that we use in our daily lives.

Ruby Trejo Ontiveros stands at the podium during the public debate on immigration at the A Mightier Tomorrow event to kick off Newsweek’s partnership with the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues in New York City on April 14. Trejo Ontiveros said debate has helped her feel more confident “if I’m having a conversation with someone.” Jackie Molloy for Newsweek

Why is it important to implement debate in classrooms?

Trejo Ontiveros: I think so that [students] can have a way to express themselves because maybe they won’t agree with the topic and they really want to say why they don’t agree. I think that help[s] them in the future, even in a relationship or like a future job, [to] express what they think without a fight, more professionally. And I think some people really enjoy having to talk [out] their ideas.

Flores Sanchez: I feel like it’s really important [because] people will know how to take other people’s opinions about the situation without taking it personally because everybody has their own views. We have to respect that. We don’t have to take it really far and get to violence. So it’s really important that we get to learn about things that are happening in our country. In our English class, we were talking about the death penalty and we went back to some cases, we reviewed it, we had to see if the death penalty is good or bad. We learned a lot about it and also that the justice system is broken so we need to fix that too.

What do you plan to do after high school?

Trejo Ontiveros: I want to continue to debate in college because in the future, I really want to become a lawyer. I think it’s kind of a legal part of becoming a lawyer—like trying to understand cases—all the skills that we have in debate might help me like in the future, becoming a lawyer. And I really want to still do debate in college and see what it leads to.

Flores Sanchez: I am interested in cybersecurity, and debate has led me to think about law school, going to law school, like searching for justice, thinking different ways, “What can I do?” So I’m also thinking about doing debate during college. My [debate] partner and I are planning to go to the same college, maybe we can be partners in college. We’re planning to go to college to have a professional career—her in business and me in cybersecurity. And then we want to jump into law school.