SVUDL Taught Me That Failure Is An Opening For Growth
East Palo Alto’s Eastside College Preparatory School senior Jocelyn Guzman credits her experience in Speech and Debate with learning the importance of hearing both sides of a story and how to think critically about current issues that connect to our communities.
“My experience with SVUDL has been like no other. I have always felt supported by SVUDL to get involved and stay curious. I’ve had the opportunity to interact with professionals in specific fields, which helped me gain insight into whether law was a path I wanted to pursue and whether I wanted to continue debating in college. What surprised me most about SVUDL is that events are going on almost all the time, which take place at Stanford, UC-Berkeley, law firms, and more. SVUDL has allowed me to gain networking skills that can carry me through college and my professional life,” shared Jocelyn.
SVUDL has shown Jocelyn that it is okay to not always win all the time. “It has shown me that failure is an opening for growth and improvement. There is always something to be learned whether you win or lose. SVUDL has challenged my ways of thinking by encouraging me to think deeply about my responses to questions and the topic in general,” said Jocelyn.
She first got involved with SVUDL through a friend on the debate team during her junior year. “My friend encouraged me to join, and I wanted to improve my public speaking and gain confidence in academics and social skills, so participating in Speech and Debate was the perfect way to make that happen. Since joining SVUDL, some of my favorite memories have been participating in Moot Court as my teammates, and I collaborated to construct speeches and learn about legal cases that I had little to no knowledge about before debate. Another favorite moment that I had was when my teammates and I went to the Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club and had the chance to learn about the 2022 - 2023 resolution for the year. We made new friends at that event and networked with many professionals,” said Jocelyn.
(JOCELYN GUZMAN ON THE RIGHT) IS PICTURED AT THE SUPERIOR COURT OF SANTA CLARA DURING THE SEMIFINALS OF THE MOOT COURT COMPETITION.
“The college process was quite stressful for me. I constantly over-thought my answers to specific prompts and did a lot of reflection on events that happened in my life that shaped the person I have become,” said Jocelyn.
She recognizes that the skills gleaned from SVUDL will come in handy once in college. “ I plan to apply the skills I gained from SVUDL like keeping an open mind on different perspectives, speaking confidently, and thinking critically. I can do this in college by providing nuance in my papers, vocalizing my opinion during seminars, and networking with my professors and others,” said Jocelyn.
