Queen Eche has dreamed of becoming an attorney for as long as she can remember. 

She had the drive. She had the motivation. 

Eche just needed an opportunity. 

She found that opportunity through Harris County Department of Education’s (HCDE) Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment (CASE) for Kids and its CASE Debates program. Now, the daughter of immigrants, product of southwest Houston and Ivy League graduate is well on her way to attaining her dream.

“I love the CASE team,” said Eche, who is currently serving a research internship in Seattle before beginning Harvard Law School in August. “They are people who really are investing in children and the growth of children. The fact that I came back – I started judging their tournaments when I was applying to law school – and they always saw me really stressed and nervous but were always supporting me. Receiving that kind of support and encouragement from people who don’t know you and just want to see the best for you, is so motiving. 

“Most people don’t have the time or effort to pour into others, but every single one of the CASE team – all they want to do is pour into all these children. I see it when I go to these tournaments and see these kids debate. They feel really encouraged and motivated.” 

That next group of students takes the stage March 1 at the Houston Urban Debate League (HUDL) City Championships. The all-day competition at the Bob Casey Federal Courthouse (515 Rusk St.) concludes a year-long CASE Debates program that featured five tournaments once a month from October through February. 

Nearly 200 high school students representing YES Prep Public Schools and Aldine, Alief and Spring Branch independent school districts began the year at a September information seminar, and the competition has narrowed down to those qualified individuals and teams for Saturday. 

In partnership with HUDL, CASE for Kids funds this free program for inner-city youth and provides aspiring debaters with training and access to both coaching and tournaments. 

“The future is in fantastic hands – these kids are smart,” Eche said. “Oh my gosh, these kids are better than me and getting way better. In a couple years, we’ll be telling stories about them.” 

As humble as Eche is, her success story with CASE Debates is one division members are proud to share. As a junior, Eche and team partner Hillary Nguyen won the 2019 HUDL City Championships in policy and advanced to the Urban Debate National Championship in Washington D.C. 

At nationals, the two Alief Kerr High School students placed second overall and Eche was also recognized as the second-best individual speaker in the tournament. They made history as the first HUDL team to reach the finals round at the national championship tournament. 

“There was a brochure that was generated by the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues after Queen competed in the final round of policy debate. It’s framed and lives in my office as it has been passed down by coordinators in this position over the last few years,” said Javier Lopez, project coordinator for CASE Debates and a former HUDL participant before joining the division. “Anything that highlights our students’ achievements lives in this office for others to learn from and gain inspiration about the work that is done. I could not be more grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Queen and she is without a doubt the best policy debate student that I have ever taught.” 

Born in the Philippines, Eche, her parents and two younger sisters moved to Houston when she was 12 years old, settling in the city’s southwest side. She’s always been driven, so she mapped out a plan to create structure for herself and achieve her goals. 

“I knew I wanted to be a lawyer at a young age, so it felt like a natural thing that I joined debate in high school,” she said. “It made sense at the time.” 

Eche was right, but with the choice came adversity. 

Debate, like many scholastic extracurricular activities, requires a financial commitment. There are tournament entry fees, judging fees and subscriptions for research materials among other incurred costs. Multiplied by numerous students and teams wanting to participate, the costs can be daunting to a campus or school district with financial limitations. 

Restraints also determine the path aspiring debaters can take. A few local tournaments were available for Eche and classmates. Larger circuit or national-level tournaments with better competition were out of reach during her first two years of high school.

“It’s really important to be able to go to those big tournaments because that’s where the highest level of debate happens,” she said. “If you want to get good, you get good there. My family could not financially afford me doing high-level debate.” 

Eche became resourceful and began watching top-level college debaters who posted their arguments online. 

“My school could afford two or three tournaments, and I would use the skills I was preparing in the background to make sure that I won those tournaments,” she said. “Every day, I would watch a debate tournament. It was extremely useful because even if I wasn’t exposed to debate myself by going to tournaments, seeing other people do it allowed me to see certain strategies or certain argument narratives, so when I was given the opportunity, I made sure to make use of it.” 

Alief ISD partnered with CASE Debates near the end of Eche’s sophomore year, giving her the opportunity she needed to showcase her drive and work ethic. 

Eche and Nguyen won the HUDL’s policy debate competition, earning college scholarships and advancing to nationals. After her performance in Washington D.C., Eche garnered recruiting interest from some of the nation’s best colleges for debate.  

“In 30 years of debate, Queen was one of those rare debaters that didn’t just research specific arguments but actually read deeply into literature and understood authors intent and philosophies better than most coaches,” Kerr Debate Coach Derek Davis said.

As a senior, Eche and partner Hanna Ghebrelul won the first HUDL Winter Classic before finishing as semifinalists at the city championships. 

Eche graduated and was named the 2019-2020 Alief ISD Student of the Year before moving on to the prestigious Dartmouth College. There, she wrote for the student newspaper, was editor in chief of Black Praxis Magazine and received top honors for her senior thesis. Eche earned a Bachelor of Arts in African and African American Studies in June. 

“These were a lot of things I was thinking about and debating about in high school,” Eche said of the 80-page thesis. “I was able to think about those things even deeper from an academic sense and write about it.”  

She served as a legal intern with Houston-based Vinson & Elkins after graduating and is currently a research lead in Seattle while awaiting her start at Harvard Law School in August. 

Eche continues checking off her goals, but she hasn’t forgotten the opportunity provided through CASE Debates. 

Looking back, Eche is grateful for the hard work she put in and opportunities that opened up. 

“Before, it felt like I could work so hard but there would be so many closed doors in front of me that I couldn’t tear down,” she said. “There would always be a tournament I couldn’t attend, a tournament I couldn’t do my best in because I didn’t have the resources that I needed. Once we were part of [Urban Debate League], it was as if a door of opportunity opened. 

“It wasn’t about necessarily winning plastic trophies for me. What was really important for me were the skills. Yes, I love debate but I knew it was a catapult to get me where I needed to be.”