David Kane
BS Computer Science - Mathematics,'92
Speech and Debate Activities (Fall '88 to Spring '92):
Team President
Head Speech Coach
Primary Events: Limited Prep and Public Address
I graduated from Binghamton more than 20 years ago. At the risk of sounding old, at that time a high-speed computer connection meant having a 14.4k modem. The Internet boom had not yet taken place. Amazon had not yet been founded. Advertisements didn't include URLs or QR codes. Searching the Internet meant using tools like WAIS and Gopher. If you didn't know what those were, there wasn't yet a Wikipedia to answer such questions. The boom in information technology has meant that I have had the opportunity as a software engineer to work in an exciting and dynamic field. It has also meant that some of what I learned while completing my degree has become obsolete. However, I have continually drawn on the skills and experiences I gained from the Speech and Debate Team, and those will never become obsolete.
The speaking, writing and leadership skills that I gained while participating on the team have been useful throughout my career. As a software engineer, I regularly communicate with customers, users, engineers and managers. Understanding the needs of the people and organizations using the software I write is analogous to understanding the audience for a speech. There are times when I need to be persuasive about a technical approach. At other times I need to be informative about the direction and vision of a development effort. As in extemp or impromptu, I don't always have the luxury of time to prepare.
The feedback I received while competing was especially valuable. Critiques from my peers when I practiced, ballots I received from judges, and the results from tournament scoring meant that I always knew where I needed to improve. I rewrote old speeches and brought lessons forward into new speeches. As a computer science student, I mostly wrote programs for computers to execute, not papers for people to read, but this feedback process helped me a great deal as a writer. This, too, has helped me in my career. I co-authored a book and I have published a number of papers as well.
I served as an officer on the Speech and Debate team, and at that time we were an entirely student-run organization. I learned is that a team is more powerful than any one person. Investing in the structure and members of a team is vital to the long-term success of any group, and a successful team is more valuable than any trophy. I take great pride in the contributions I made that have helped the Speech and Debate team become a successful, ongoing endeavor.
I am fortunate that I live close enough to Binghamton that team shows up from time-to-time to compete in tournaments near my home. I always enjoy meeting the current competitors on the team. I don't know what the next 20 years of information technology will bring, but I am sure the experience of competing on the Speech and Debate team will still be invaluable.
Ting Ting Tam
Degree: BA Political Science, '09
Policy Debate Team (Fall '06 to Spring '09)
Team Captain 2008-2009
Positions While Debating: Tutor on campus, taught for a private test prep company
Current Position: Judicial Law Clerk
Participating in competitive debate was one of the most invaluable experiences I had during college. Through the activity, I have met some of the smartest and most supportive people I know - both coaching staff and teammates included. Aside from the truly impressive people, I am glad that I debated because the activity helped me hone skills that I still use today as a recent law school graduate and future lawyer. In particular, debate provided a rare opportunity to practice collaborative thinking. I enjoyed brain storming with teammates, and was provided a safe environment to practice responding to and building off of others' ideas. That is a skill that I have found immensely useful while working in the close-knit environment of a judge's chambers. Debate has also changed the way that I think. To be successful as a debater, I was encouraged to question assumptions. The imperative of switching sides and advocating the position to which I was assigned challenged me to make viable arguments where it may have seemed there were none. I believe that debate has turned me into a more open-minded and creative thinker, and a better advocate for my future clients.
