- Joanna Gusis and Stephen Lewis placed third at the University of Kentucky hosted invite only tournament.
- The debate team is setting the pair up for their future careers.
- Video shows students sharing their experience at the tournament.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
There are some things that have been up for debate for ages. Personally, my friends and I often debate whether pineapple belongs on pizza where my answer is absolutely not. But if I were to tell you that Michigan State has one of the top debate teams in the country I'd tell you it's not up for debate.
Joanna Gusis and Stephen Lewis recently placed third at the Kentucky Thoroughbred Round Robin, an invite-only debate tournament featuring the top seven teams in the country.
"It's a round-robin style so everyone debates everyone with judges from around the country as well," said Gusis.
Preparations for this tournament were no cake walk...
"As a time commitment it's a large one, they say we do the amount of research in one year on a debate topic that people do in a master's thesis," said Gusis.
"The best debaters in the country ever have been invited and performed well at that tournament," said Lewis.
The debate team for the two of them stretches outside of the university. It provides them the opportunity for training in their chosen careers as Gusis aspires to be a lawyer and Lewis wants to become a union defense attorney.
"My mom was a single parent, worked like three jobs and went to school. Watching my mom go through that, like every day, it made me very aware of how people are unafforded the right protections in terms of work, labor and employment and it became something that I got really passionate about," said Lewis.
With the hopes of qualifying for the 2024 National Debate Tournament at the end of the year, Lewis and Gusis have no plans to stop making their case as one of the best.
"Joanna and I especially are in such a unique position to perform to a level that can exceed everyone's expectations," said Lewis.
I'm Dominic Carroll FOX 47 News.
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