Piedmont College Debate Team
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Our Debaters:
Ruben Mendez, Wendy McLaren (No Bio), Ernest Montford (No Bio), Jerisa Pierce, Shelly Porter, Ben Sidey, Jessica Schuman (No Bio), Luke Story, Devin Trusty (No Bio), Mary Beth Williams, Cody Wright

Ruben Mendez
President

Ruben In DC
Biography
Major: Mass Communication
Concentration: Weather Forecasting/ TV Broadcasting
High School: Duluth High School
Awards or Honors/Scholarships: Leadership Award; Debate Team President; Government Scholarship; HOPE; Debate Quarter-Finalist at Vanderbilt University in 2006
Other Extra-Curricular Activities: Baseball Player in a Semi-Pro Mens league in Athens; Team Piedmont; Founder and Former President of the PC Outdoor Club; Office work in Nursing Department; DJ (disk jockey)
Why Do I Debate:

I was recruited on the Debate Team my Freshman year by Assistant Coach Ryan Baker. He basically told me I would wind up being a great asset to the team. I made great friends with Dr. Janice Moss and she taught me the ropes of debate. I continued to debate because I enjoy arguing, but besides that, I enjoy the challenge of debating people from big schools like UGA and Emory University. It makes me feel good to come out with a win against some of the best schools in the debate community. The work load of debate in tremendous and it provides an adrenaline rush to put together a winning argument. My debate experience will hopefully take me far into the future and possibly to law school. Not to mention, only after a year of my experience, I was made Co-President of the Award Winning Team.

Ruben on the Broad River
Ruben stuck in smoke Mopsie and I
My Best Debate Experience So Far:
As much as I want to say my best experience is the time Luke and I advanced to the Quarter Finals for the first time at Vanderbilt University in 2006, I just have to give one that I will never forget. My absolute best experience so far has been the first win that I got in my first debate tournament. It was at Georgia State University in 2005 with a former debate member. We had experienced defeat the whole weekend and on the last day we felt lucky. On our first round and we actually won. The reason it was so great was because I ran up and down the hallway yelling 'We Won.' It was so funny; my own debate teammate denied he knew who I was when a debate judge asked who I was.