By Beth Barhydt
Ambika Grover, a recently graduated U.S. Presidential Scholar from Greenwich High School, has made her hometown and nation immensely proud. As a member of Team USA, she helped achieve a triumphant victory at the World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC) in Vietnam, a feat achieved by an American team for the first time since 1994.
Grover was handpicked from nearly 140,000 applicants of the National Speech & Debate Association to represent Team USA, a testament to her extraordinary debating prowess. Her intellectual acumen and debating skills proved instrumental in the historical final showdown against Team Canada, marking the first-ever North American final in the competition’s history.
A woman of many talents, Grover is recognized as one of the nation’s top five debaters and has also made significant contributions to scientific research. She placed among the top six in a major nationwide scientific research competition for her groundbreaking research on stroke treatment.
Following Team USA’s victory, Senator Fazio, who introduced Grover as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in 2023, congratulated her in a heartfelt statement: “Congratulations to Ambika – for making us proud yet again! I first met Ambika in her Honor Science Research class where she presented her national-award-winning research on alleviating blood clots and again when I recognized her on the state Senate floor for being named one of just 160 Presidential Scholars. As a Greenwich High Debate Alumus, I could not be more happy to see her continue to make our town and state proud.”
“The USA Debate team represents some of the best and brightest high school students this country has to offer,” added J. Scott Wunn, Executive Director of the National Speech & Debate Association. He commended the entire Team USA for their exceptional performance, particularly noting the contribution of Ambika Grover.
Greenwich is overjoyed and extremely proud of Grover’s achievement. Her victory not only highlights her personal accomplishment but also raises the profile of Greenwich High School and the wider Greenwich community on the global stage.
We at the Greenwich Sentinel also extend our warmest congratulations to Ambika Grover and Team USA for their historic win at the World Schools Debating Championships. We eagerly look forward to Grover’s continued success as she uses her intellectual talent and passion for debate to make a positive impact on the world.
The USA Debate team competing in this year’s competition were as follows:
Ollie Braden – Senior – Jackson-Reed High School – District of Columbia; Ambika Grover – Senior – Greenwich High School – Connecticut; Chelsea Hu – Junior – Phillips Academy – Massachusetts; Vinayak Menon – Senior – Lambert High School – Georgia; Sungjoo Yoon– Senior – Burbank Senior High School – California; Alex Lee (alternate) – Harvard-Westlake School – California.
The team was coached by Cindi Timmons (co-head coach), Aaron Timmons (co-head coach), and team manager), and Aditya Dhar (assistant coach).
In addition to serving as President of the Greenwich High School debate team for the past two years, Ambika serves as President of the Economics and Girls Who Code Clubs. She is passionate about science, having won a 1st place Grand Award at the International Science & Engineering Fair (placing 4th the year prior) for her innovations. She has also interned at NASA and leads several outreach initiatives to encourage younger students to explore STEM-related subjects. In her free time, she enjoys performing with her string quartet, listening to podcasts, and spending time with friends and family.
From an application process open to almost 140,000 student members of the National Speech & Debate Association, only 12 students are selected to join the 2022-2023 USA Debate team. From these, five are chosen to compete at the World Schools Debating Championships in addition to one alternate. For more about the victorious USA Debate team, visit www.speechanddebate.org/usa-debate.
