Testimonials
“NSD really prepares you for a strong debate season. It is one step ahead of other camps in terms of debate trends, philosophy, and topic analysis. I loved my experience each year I returned.”
-Larry Milstein
“NSD creates an environment that makes it not only easier to learn, but rather impossible not to. The camp and the labs make it so every student learns, not just the kids in top lab." -Paul Zhou
“Any debater who wants the best staff and the greatest environment for learning should attend NSD. If you want to get better at debate you should attend NSD. All other institutes are second rate compared to this camp. I would highly recommend NSD to anyone.” -Wyatt Moorer
“NSD efficiently uses the two weeks to pack in as much curriculum as possible. Within the first two days, I learned more than I’ve learned in three weeks at other camps. Further, the entire camp staff was extremely approachable and easy to work with. Even though I didn’t know all the instructors personally, I felt very comfortable learning from all of them.” -Tashrima Hossain
“NSD helps one improve tremendously. Not only does one learn basically as much as one learns in a whole season of debate in two weeks, but I can tell that what used to be my weaknesses are now part of my strong suit!” -Shruti Kumar
“The rigorous curriculum at NSD is unparalleled at any other camp in the nation and presented me with the necessary obstacles that I had to overcome to improve. In addition, the competence of the staff exceeded all expectations and I am extremely grateful for their assistance, as well as the caring and egalitarian environment that they provided.” -Zijie Yin
“NSD is a comprehensive debate institute with the best debaters and coaches in the nation as staff. It differs from similar summer programs in that everyone receives individualized attention and features a heavier focus on philosophy – in large part thanks to Eric Palmer’s intellectually stimulating lectures.” -Christopher Li
“The lab leaders are very friendly and helpful, but they also give excellent criticism, which makes it easy to improve. The environment is always friendly, and even though there is a lot of work to do, all of the drills and assignments really help you get better.” -Janice Gho
“NSD is the single most helpful debate experience one can have. Where other camps favor the higher labs and don’t pay as much attention to the lower labs, NSD pays attention to everyone, and provides expert staff for students at all experience levels.” –Joseph Millman
