April Alum of the Month: David Weeks, Co-Founder of NHSDLC

In support of CIEE’s signature partnership with the 100,000 Strong Foundation, we are highlighting the stories of CIEE alumni who are playing a role in strengthening US-China relations. This month, we’re sharing the story of David Weeks, who studied abroad in Shanghai, China with CIEE’s China in a Global Context program in the fall of 2008.  Weeks is co-founder of the National High School Debate League of China (NHSDLC), the largest foreign-language high school debate league in the world. 

In February 2015, NHSDLC partnered with the Asia Society in New York to host War of Words with High Schoolers from China, a debate tournament between four top Chinese and American high school debaters. (Photo: NHSDLC)

The origin story of NHSDLC began over a decade ago, when Weeks met two fellow debaters – and his future co-founders of NHSDLC – at a debate tournament. During his semester in China, Weeks taught English at a Chinese university and spent a few years in the field of finance before deciding to pursue debate and international education as a career. They began NHSDLC with debate tournaments and free debate training in Beijing; after just three years, NHSDLC has become a significant presence in the world of debate in China. They host debate tournaments in about 30 Chinese cities, and train approximately 50,000 students a year, with in-person training in every province in China.

“China’s growing culture of debating is a bright spot in the discourse about China in general.”

Chinese debate teams from NHSDLC have excelled in national tournaments against teams at U.S. higher educational institutions like the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard University. “These are Chinese kids who are well-spoken enough to beat a native speaker of English – American debaters – on American soil,” says David. He recounts the story of one NHSDLC alumnus, a Chinese student who made it to the final round of the NHSDLC National Championship, who caught the attention of a judge who travelled to Beijing as a representative of the Yale Debate Association. The judge wrote the student a recommendation letter for admission into Yale, and the student now attends Yale on a full scholarship.

Weeks says that NHSDLC’s success and rapid growth in China is directly related to the increasing popularity of debate culture in China. Weeks believes that this is due to the growth of intercultural education, and a relative scarcity of English-language extracurricular activities in China. Debate integrates a more active, dialogue-focused learning style into the lecture-oriented Chinese education system. As Chinese education officials look for ways to increase experiential learning in the classroom, debate has emerged as a solution.

As a result of debating in English, there is more freedom in the debate topics. Students have debated subjects such as foreign policy, the death penalty, environmental laws, and standardized testing. Weeks says that the fact that the debates are held in English enables them to discuss more sensitive topics. “It’s more of an educational exchange activity than a cultural revolution,” says Weeks, “and the knowledge [of the Chinese students] brings a fresh, more nuanced perspective, which enhances the experience for the American students.” 

“Debate is a step in the right direction, one piece in the puzzle that is part of the solution.”

Week’s semester abroad with CIEE was his first experience living in Asia and being in China, and he says that without that experience, he would not have had the confidence to pursue NHSDLC as a career.  “If I had gone to China on my own, I would have retreated into an expat bubble,” Weeks says. “CIEE made me more comfortable talking to people in Chinese, because I knew there was a supportive community to come back to.” In the future, Weeks’ plan is to expand NHSDLC, as well as to grow separate organizations that focus on business, entrepreneurship competitions, Model United Nations, and robotics competitions across East Asia. 

Did your CIEE experience have an impact on your life?

Share your story by emailing alumni@ciee.org.