Held Together with Duct Tape: A Note from the Board

Written by Yash & Rishi, FSI Board Members

This summer, we finally got to see Future Speakers Initiative come to life. What started as a makeshift set of lesson plans and drop-ins at middle schools turned into weeks of real students, real classrooms, and a lot of real work we hadn’t anticipated. We ran online bootcamps, taught at libraries, reached out to dozens of community centers, and spent hours figuring out how to make each part of the program run a little smoother and more enjoyable for our students. It certainly wasn’t always easy, and it definitely wasn’t always predictable, but it taught us more than we expected, about teaching, about communication, about what it means to try and build something from the ground up, and just so happened to be a fantastically enjoyable and enriching experience for us in the process. We wanted to write this dual reflective narrative not just to recap what happened, but to look back on what we actually experienced: the moments that pushed us, the ones that made us laugh, the days we questioned ourselves, and all the little breakthroughs that made it all worth it. It’s also a way to start thinking about what’s next, and how we want to keep growing FSI. Speech and debate has become something we care deeply about, and this summer reminded us why we’re committed to making sure more students get to experience it too. Thanks for reading.

Before It All Started

Yash:

Heading into senior year, I already knew this summer would be about FSI. We’d been planning it for months, and I was ready to spend my time teaching and growing the program. Still, I don’t think I fully grasped what that would actually look like: how often I’d be reshaping lesson plans, troubleshooting details I hadn’t anticipated, or figuring out how to make things work with whatever space we could get.

But once the idea for our summer programming took shape, it felt like there was no turning back. We were running real classes now, with real students who had actually signed up. I always tell everyone not to overprepare. I tell them that confidence comes from clarity, not from writing out every sentence. Then I proceeded to write out every sentence. So much for that.

Still, I think deep down, I knew we were doing something important. I just didn’t know how it would actually go.

Rishi:

I wasn’t totally sure what to expect either. I knew I fully supported the idea of teaching public speaking, seeing the value of sharing our experiences and lessons that we learned. However, there was the troubling feeling that this would be another failure; the students would just tune out, create awkward silences during our activities, maybe the slideshow presentation completely not working on the projector. I felt as if what we were doing would be too much of an ask.

I learned to drown out these thoughts, however. I knew that overthinking our situation would not do anything more but make us feel more anxious and more prone to making a mistake. We knew our content and we would be speaking directly from our experiences. This wouldn’t be anything more than having a conversation with a larger audience.

I kept telling myself: worst case, we learn from it. Best case, we help someone find their voice. After all, there had to be at least one person who learned something from us, right? Whether it was us or one of the students who learned, it didn’t matter. We were growing as an organization, and that was the most important part.

The Summer Begins

Yash:

FSI started because Rishi and I knew what it was like to feel stuck in speech and debate. We didn’t come from some polished, high-resource program. We lost more than we won. And we didn’t always know how to get better. We tried our hardest to get better from self-coaching and persistence, although it sometimes didn’t translate to the best results.

We built the kind of program we had always needed. Something that made it easier to start, easier to improve, and actually feel supported along the way.

We launched our online bootcamps in early June. Six weeks, free of charge, with students joining in from all backgrounds. At the same time, we started reaching out to community centers and libraries to run in-person events over the Summer. Some were quick to say yes. Others didn’t respond. A few needed lots of follow-up. I posted flyers where I could and sent more emails than I care to count.

At one point, we went to the local farmers market to talk to parents and spread the word. People were kind, asked questions, and took flyers, but no one actually signed up. It was probably just the hustle and bustle of it all. Families were way too focused on their own errands. Did it feel worth doing? Sure, even if it didn’t lead anywhere directly. I mean, it was another way to put ourselves out there and keep practicing how to share what we were building. Was it a productive use of time? Perhaps not.

Another time, we spent about three hours at a food bank trying to reach more families. I brought a friend who spoke Spanish to help with conversations. That actually turned into a really fun experience. We got to talk to people more personally, and even though not everyone was interested, it felt like we were connecting in a more grounded way. Not everything led to registrations, but all of it felt like momentum.

Rishi:

It was a scorching summer in the middle of July. I had gathered two of my friends to help me pass out flyers and advertise for one of our upcoming events. We had targeted multiple library branches and community centers and it was getting close to lunch time. Already we had gotten a bunch of contact cards and brochures with extra information that we would need.

It was around 11:30 when we realized that we would need some tape for some of our flyers. We would need to hang up some flyers on the community rooms and bulletin boards. Luckily for us, there was an O’Reilly Parts store right next to the community center we would be advertising at next, so we decided to walk in and see if they had any sort of Scotch Tape. We circled the entire store, to only find Gorilla Tape, something too strong for our needs and quite unnecessary. To top it all off, the tape cost 12 bucks. We all just looked at each other, said nothing, and walked out.

That kind of summed up how outreach felt sometimes. Awkward, unpredictable, weirdly funny. But slowly, things started moving. The Vietnamese American Service Center offered to host a three-day camp. We were excited. We planned everything, made materials, sent reminders, and then, a week before the event, it got canceled due to a missed insurance form. It was frustrating. But we didn’t have time to dwell. We had more events lined up.

The Teaching Moments

Yash:

Once the sessions started, everything changed. The students showed up. Like they actually showed up. I remember one student at a library event who barely spoke on day one. By day three, he was leading group discussions and chiming in with confidence.

It reminded me why we started this in the first place.

There was one night I stayed up building a virtual escape room for our final online class. It was completely unnecessary and probably could’ve been done in half the time, but I got carried away. Watching the students work through it the next week—laughing, collaborating, actually thinking out loud—was easily one of the most rewarding moments of the summer.

Of course, not everything was smooth. Over time, online attendance dipped a bit. A lot of students stopped submitting exit tickets. Many parents didn’t reply to follow-up emails I sent out. I caught myself wondering if I was doing something wrong. But then I’d watch the kids who kept showing up, and who kept getting better, and I stopped worrying about the rest.

Rishi:

I was surprised by how focused the students were. I expected more distractions, especially during the in-person sessions, but they came in ready to learn. Some even got so involved that it felt like they were trying to help us, by stepping up when things slowed down or jumping into activities without needing a push. Teaching felt a lot less intimidating because of that.

There were moments when I realized I was learning just as much as they were. About communication, about patience, about how to explain ideas in a way that actually connects. It was less about performing, more about connecting.

Growth Beyond the Curriculum

Yash:

By the middle of summer, FSI didn’t feel like a side project anymore. It felt like something we were actually building. All in all, we ended up teaching over 200 students across our online and in-person sessions. On top of that, I was finishing research work and writing college essays, all while handling the scheduling, outreach, and admin tasks. It was overwhelming, but it never felt like something I didn’t want to be doing.

Rishi was always there to step in when I needed help. Through his lesson planning, teaching, and marketing help, we were able to accomplish a lot more than we had expected. Toward the end of summer, I brought on a friend to help with marketing and outreach, and another to help build out our YouTube channel (coming soon!). Suddenly, we weren’t just two people anymore.

And I realized something I hadn’t expected: I actually loved teaching Critical Thinking and Argumentation. It made me more curious about the world and pushed me to stay sharp. I left each class wanting to be better informed, not because I had to be, but because I wanted to meet my students where they were.

Rishi:

My biggest surprise was how little handholding the students needed. I had braced myself for distractions and side conversations. I imagined them giggling quietly to themselves, not paying attention, scrutinizing us as if we didn’t know what we were talking about and we weren’t meant to be taken seriously.

But instead, I got students who genuinely wanted to participate. Some stayed after to ask questions or share stories. During some of our online sessions, the kids would help us out if there was a technical issue during the presentation, like the audio not playing, or a Kahoot game not loading for some of the kids. This calmed my anxiety, as I discovered these weren’t just students judging us for what we were teaching. These were students who genuinely cared and wanted to see us succeed.

My family supported me a lot through all of this. FSI was my biggest focus for the summer, and they saw how much time and effort went into it. My mom would give us advice on activities or teaching styles that kids would enjoy, being a 3rd grade school teacher herself. My dad would check up on us after online bootcamps, make sure we always had a ride to and from the libraries we would be presenting at. Even my younger brother participated in some of the speaking events and online bootcamps that we hosted, just to increase the number of participants.

One of the most difficult parts of this summer was balancing the workload along with FSI. As a rising senior, I was partaking in a research program, working on college essays, developing my passion project, and going to the gym. There was so much time in the day yet so little after all of these extra responsibilities that needed to be taken care of. But in the end, I was able to manage my time and prioritize FSI, as this was my biggest contribution and my biggest priority.

Looking Ahead

This summer showed us how fast something can grow when you believe in it and commit fully. Our Fall 2025 bootcamps are already filling up. We’re planning more in-person workshops with libraries and centers we’ve connected with over the past few months. And we’re expanding our reach.

We’re launching a new monthly program for younger students in grades 3–5, helping them develop speaking skills early. And this fall, we’re planning to host an interdistrict middle school tournament where our students (past and present) can step up and compete.

We’ve learned a lot. We’ve made mistakes. We’ve stayed up way too late formatting slides. But we’ve also seen students grow more confident, more outspoken, and more willing to take the mic. And that makes every hour we spent this summer worth it.

To everyone who gave us a chance, thank you. The students, the parents, the librarians, the volunteers, the ones who said yes to two teenagers asking to put up a community flyer. We’re just getting started.

— Yash & Rishi