GFD Welcomes Casey Harrigan to Georgia Debate!

Posted by Jeffrey Miller
May 17, 2008    

Your season is wrapping up, but Georgia Forensics Daily is just unveiling the new batch of interviews of new Georgia coaches. Almost a month ago, the University of Georgia announced their newest card cutting machine: Casey Harrigan.

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Casey is the new debate coach at the University of Georgia.

Again, I sat down electronically with Casey and had the following interview about UGA, College Debate, and college decisions.

Jeffrey Miller (JM): Can you tell me a little background on the “Casey Harrigan?” The pre-NDT Casey, i.e. where’d you debate in High School?
Casey Harrigan (CH): Haha, The Man, The Myth, The Legend. I debated at West Ottawa High School in Holland, Michigan for three years. Our team basically consisted of myself, a friend that I recruited to debate, and an English teacher who had some previous experience with other styles of debate. We weren’t particularly good. But, I had a lot of fun. I doubt that I would have debated in college had I not attended the Spartan Debate Institute in 2001. I was exposed to some awesome people and the incredible work ethic at MSU (which was just what I needed). Alison Eber emailed me about debate, and the rest is history.

JM: SDI is a fantastic experience. I attended in 2004. So, what got you interested in coaching debate?
CH: The graduate program at Wake Forest University is awesome training for debate coaches. There, I learned two really important things: that teaching is an exceptionally difficult but constantly rewarding process that I wanted to be a part of, and that, if I could get paid enough to survive doing what I loved to do, I probably should stick with it. Besides, I probably couldn’t have stopped myself from cutting cards all day, even if I had taken a desk job.
JM: What made you decide to come to UGA?
CH: Potential. The place is brimming with it. All the right pieces are in place to set up the UGA debate program to consistently be one of the most successful debate teams in the country for the foreseeable future. The Director of Debate, Dr. Edward Panetta, has done an incredible job to ensure that UGA will have a very strong team for a long time.
JM: Well, UGA’s a huge recruiter of the best Georgia debaters, in your opinion, what makes UGA one of the best debate schools in the nation?
CH: Well, that’s a large part of it. UGA is strong because Georgia debate is strong. The amazing work of high school coaches in the state have created a pool of extremely skilled debaters that ensure that UGA is regularly competing at the highest levels of collegiate debate. In addition to this, UGA has a combination of experience - in past successful debaters like Naveen Ramachandrappa, Hays Watson, Brent Culpepper and Kevin Rabinowitz (winners of the 2007 Copeland Award), - a strong and talented group of current debaters, and a bright future. There are several dedicated Graduate Assistant Coach positions that allow people like Blake Abbott to bring important insights and strategies to the table. Plus, UGA has its *own* debate building. That’s crazy.
JM: Finally, what would you say is the best advice you received as a senior in high school making a college decision?
CH: Go Green! Go White! :-) As the son of two MSU alums, there wasn’t too much “deciding” to be had. I was a Spartan from the beginning. I didn’t seriously consider anywhere else, so I can’t give you a profound answer. But, to others: focus on the right reasons. Academics come first, make sure that you visit the campus to make sure the it “feels right”, and don’t choose a school only based on where your friends are going. Oh, and from now on, Go Dawgs!
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From the Staff, New Coaches, inside georgia forensics daily

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