Meet Rikhil Ranjit | Founder & CEO of Envision Debate

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rikhil Ranjit and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rikhil, what is the most important factor behind your success?
To understand the most important factor behind my motivation, I’d have to take you many years back, all the way back to third grade, when I indulged in my first-ever debate class. Debate class felt like a foreign concept to me, especially considering my timid inclinations. But, I absolutely adored arguing about why Samsung was better than Apple and why pineapples on pizza indeed did fit.

As I grew older though, debating more serious and pressing global issues, I saw debate not just as a fun exercise, but rather as a tool to revolutionize how we educate the next generation. I took notice of America’s critical thinking crisis, where students are unable to create their perspectives and instead, rely on one’s given to them by their teacher. That mixed with lecture-heavy classes that led to passive classrooms without truly engaging discussions. Alternatively, I’ve seen the unique benefits of debate first-hand: it enhances speaking skills, confidence, critical thinking, empathy, and research ability. However, there was an issue I noticed with the lack of debate-led coaching or instruction; most coaching costs over $60/hour, which was simply inaccessible.

It’s why I started Envision Debate in seventh grade, an organization that strives to fill this void. We work with schools, teachers businesses, non-profits, governments, and students all across the world to integrate debate into society. I recognize that creative resiliency is a foundational aspect of any leader, and I find it vital to drive my future projects to make they are innovative, efficient, and exciting for every student.

Truly, what led to this initiative’s success was my tenacious drive. I maximized every opportunity I was granted, sought out opportunities, and spent countless hours each day perfecting what our organization could do because I knew the potential it held. The long-held passion I held for debate blended with drive continued to push me over obstacles and embody the idea that pressure creates diamonds.

A project I began as a side hobby with just two students in each Zoom class, Envision now contains endless opportunities for students to get involved in the excitement of debate and public speaking.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
What excites me most about Envision Debate are the creative avenues we have pursued implementing debate in. I find enthusiasm in disrupting the status quo and searching for initiatives that have never been implemented. I strived to avoid complacency with Envision Debate by not just focusing on debate coaching classes or workshops that generally exist across a spectrum of other organizations. Instead, we have taken a more holistic approach to make the debate more inclusive. For example, we recently received approval from the University of North Georgia to host a state-wide debate tournament for students just starting to get involved in debate. I pushed this initiative because there were only two to three other tournaments in total for Georgia students to attend (one of which has specific restrictions on debate experience).

One of our more recent projects involves integrating debate within school curriculums across the country. Taking inspiration from Broward County in Florida mandating debate classes, I cooperated with Georgia representatives on an initiative going through the education committee legislatively. If passed, it would formally implement debate within school curricula. I am currently working on gathering data, testimonials, and proof-of-concept for debate in schools, beginning with a few schools in my county and expanding from there. To not limit myself, I even looked into a national approach. Working with Senator Warnock’s legislative office, we have curated a potential bill to utilize Title IV-A federal funding for schools to fund speech/debate classes.

Expanding Envision Debate was never an easy process. At its core, I have relied on over 250 emails being sent to many different people and organizations that I thought had the potential for expanding my objective. As expected though, most of these emails were unrealized, and a few of the emails that had responded were immediately skeptical of a high school student’s ability to be mature enough to balance these responsibilities. It required call after call of persuasion to finally get a few people on board and from there, Envision continuously gained traction. Through this process, I learned that perseverance wasn’t just about enduring difficult moments, but also about enjoying the discomfort it created and seeing the evolution it brought me.

What brings me the most excitement about Envision is our global approach. Interacting with students across the world, from Jamaica to Tanzania, has shed light on their world perspectives. Too often, I find myself adopting US-centric perspectives, and hearing youth’s perception of the same issues from an entirely different background is truly insightful. Envision cooperates directly with schools and NGOs globally, to provide debate-led education within existing lessons, training teachers on how to best adopt debate activities in their classrooms. Currently, we’ve coordinated panel discussions amongst Jamaican college students to reduce youth violence, curated workshops within curricular restrictions, and formed debate leagues to instill some competitive spirit.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d have to start with the Coca-Cola Factory. I remember visiting the place when I was young, captivated by the art of its creation and the rich history behind it. Of course, the taste test of over 100 Coca-Cola products from across the world is hard to miss. Many of these drinks contain gripping flavors with a particularly delicate taste that you cannot endear anyplace else.

From there, it would make sense to then explore the wonders of the Georgia Aquarium. The wonders it holds, from meeting penguins to engrossing yourself over the swift movement of various marine creatures, is something someone shouldn’t miss out on. Some animals here are globally unique, including the whale shark that you can only find in five other places globally.

Football season has kicked off, so taking a quick detour to watch a home game with the Atlanta Falcons at the Mercedez Benz Stadium would be riveting, especially for anyone who is a die-hard football fan. The echoing chants of an electric crowd along with the blazing movements of each player is perfectly captured with the ambience of this stadium.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First, I’d like to thank Phillip Finch, a coordinator at the 100 Black Men. He has been pivotal as a mentor, guiding my path both in terms of constructive advice on how to expand Envision Debate as well as general life skills. He has gone out of his way to even procure new opportunities for me to gauge different experiences, including a session I helped conduct with the 100 Black Men at a high school in Atlanta.

Second, Envision Debate would not be possible without the amazing help, support, and partners we have procured along the way. These organizations/people have made a profound impact both on my character growth and our organization’s mission:

-The Jamaican Association for Debating and Empowerment (Germaine Barrett)
-Accesslife America and its Youth Chapter
-Asante Africa Foundation
-The Rural Debate Initiative (Kelly Mu)
-Emory University (James Roland)
-Georgia Tech
-University of North Georgia
-21st Century Leaders (Tim Parham)
-National Speech and Debate (NSD)
-Atlanta Urban Debate League (AUDL)

Website: https://envisiondebate.org/

Other: envisiondebate@gmail.com