Houstonian Rajveer “Raj” Kindra is No. 1 Debater
Houston: Rajveer, who is now a Senior in high school, has won numerous state, national, and international tournaments in Debate & Oratory leading up to this achievement. Rajveer has always had a passion for helping others find their voices, encouraging others to build confidence, and speak on topics meaningful to them.
In 2016 Rajveer took the initiative to set up a debate class in his middle school that did not offer any debate curriculum or assistance for competitions. Debate was what he fell in love with as it allowed him to engage in both sides of any issue from all angles. He stated, “The focus it develops to closely pay attention to your opponents’ arguments, understand them, and then deliver your counter-arguments to convince the judges for a win is enthralling.” Rajveer won the very first debate tournament he participated in middle school.
As he moved into high school, it took uncompromising commitment. Long hours to write and practice cases, travel across the country on weekends for intense competition, and immediately return to school with ample homework to catch up on. The effort has paid off as throughout his academic career so far, Rajveer is Ranked first in the Nation in Debate (Lincoln Douglas – National Speech and Debate Association), has won Two National Championships and qualified for three other Nationals, including Tournament of Champions in his Junior year, Qualified for Nationals (NSDA) in Sophomore and junior year consecutively going undefeated during qualification rounds, and as a freshman won sixth place in LD at the University Interscholastic League (UIL) State, just to name a few.
Outside of School, Rajveer’s proudest accomplishment is working with various non-profits to provide financial resources for debate and speech programs nationally. He works with these organizations to maximize the opportunity for all to enjoy debate, as his principal objective is to combat the social inequalities he has witnessed while participating in the debate circuit. There are massive schools with significant funding for their debate programs that have up to 6 coaches and a plethora of teammates that faced Rajveer, who had to pay out of pocket to fly out and attend these tournaments with no institutional support, peers, or coaching. Even with all the odds stacked against him, Rajveer has shined in the field of debate. He intends to pursue law and wants to help the impoverished and fight for their voices, just like he did as a middle schooler.