🌟🎤Shining a Light on CBS Students - Martha Schou
After a well deserved Easter break, CBS Students is back with new a interview series: "𝗦𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗕𝗦 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀!" 🌟
In this series, we present students who have made an impact at CBS whether through academic excellence, campus involvement, or representing Copenhagen Business School on a larger stage.
We’re kicking things off with Martha Johanne Schou , a BSc International Business & Politics student (Class of 2025), who recently made history as part of the first ever Danish team to reach the final of the European University Debate Championship. 🇩🇰🏆
In our conversation with Martha, we dive into her experience at the championship and explore why she believes debate is a crucial skill in today’s world. Enjoy!
𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀! 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗦𝗟 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹? 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗲𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸, 𝗖𝗕𝗦 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗮 𝗯𝗶𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲?
To say it was surreal would be an understatement. We found out the night before that we had won our semifinal against Croatia, Serbia, and the Netherlands and thus had gone through to the finals. The entire Danish delegation was screaming and hugging us. But to me, it didn’t fully sink in before I heard the crowd roaring as we walked on stage for the final the next day. Hearing all those people cheer for Copenhagen is a moment I’ll never forget. It was the culmination of years of hard work and months of preparation for these six days in August. The year before, I watched the ESL final live in Bulgaria at my first European University Debating Championship. At the time, I thought the teams in the final were superhuman and the most talented people ever. To think that in just a year, I had made it to that level was insane.
𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁?
Debating doesn't just teach you to win arguments, it teaches you to listen actively, to see both sides of a disagreement and to engage with what the other person is saying respectfully and constructively. It develops reflective and well-intentioned thinkers who can speak their minds persuasively and effectively. This is a skill that can take you very far.
𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹? 𝗔𝗻𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?
Debating has taught me that there are always two sides to an argument. Even if you disagree very strongly or think the other side is objectively wrong, you can only change minds if you understand why people think the way they do and what arguments persuaded them. Everyone just wants to be listened to and taken seriously. If you listen and engage respectfully, you’d be surprised how much further you can get with them.
𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲. 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻, 𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗿. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺?
Do it! Getting a degree is important, but actively gaining skills, networking, and experiences won’t just happen in a lecture hall. For the past two years, I have been part of the team planning the 2025 European University Debating Championships, which will take place at CBS this summer. This is not only an opportunity to give back to the debating community and to CBS. It has also taught me so many real-life skills, such as event planning, stakeholder analysis, negotiation, and sponsorship searching. University to me is also about gaining a community. I have found my people in debate, and this has contextualised my degree and made it much more enjoyable.