As parents, we had our sights set on Veritas when it was called Harvard Debate Council Diversity Project because we had never seen such excellence from young Black students prior to being introduced to the program. As parents, we are all about challenging our daughter to go above and beyond in all areas of life and that is not limited to academic activities outside of her public education. As a scholar that is thriving in her cohort, our daughter has shown tremendous growth as a participant in Veritas Debate Institute (VDI) and has EARNED her way from the application process to now. The confidence that she exudes in conversations with her peers, teachers and school principal about student engagement and policies as a newly inducted member of Student Government Council, to the philosophical discussions we have as a family are unmatched. Simply put, one of the most rewarding aspects of our week is to engage in meaningful conversations on Saturday nights that help us evolve in the way we think, yet at the same time be diplomatic in our responses and reception to her big ideas.
From the very beginning, we understood and locked in on the commitment it would take for our daughter to be successful at VDI. The assignment was clear and the institution laid it all out from day one, going as far as reading over the handbook that parents and scholars were to sign before officially beginning their VDI journey.
As parents, we are grateful to Veritas for their continued commitment to academic excellence outside of the classroom, providing unique opportunities for scholars to make deposits into their academic and social capital banks should they choose to take advantage. VDI isn’t for everybody but for the scholars and families that choose to lock in, lives will forever be changed for the better and extraordinary greatness will be inevitable for scholars that are willing to do the work as a VDI scholar.