Senior Lauren Pauls is taking on a haul this year, as she gets involved with debate, forensics and several other school activities.

She described how her first semester went and her plans for after high school.

Q: What kind of work, outside of school, does debate require?
A: “Debate requires a lot of time outside of school. The average tournament week, including research, practice rounds and the tournament itself means 20-30 hours of work outside of school.”

Q: Explain what record you are close to breaking in debate.
A: “I’m on my way to breaking the school record for number of NFL (National Forensics Leauge) points. You earn points for participating/succeeding in speech activities.”

Q: How did the debate team do this year?
A: “The debate team did pretty well. We’ve brought home medals almost every weekend.”

Q: What other school activities are you involved in?
A: “Other than debate, I’m in forensics, Model UN, choir, orchestra and the musical.”

Q: How do you juggle all the school work plus debate and any other activities?
A: “A lot of caffeine.”

Q: What are your plans for after high school?
A: “I plan to attend the University of Chicago or University of Denver to study International Relations.”

Q: What do you like to do in your free time?
A: “I like reading, sleeping, hanging out with friends and poking around the internet.”