Student at American Heritage School in Delray Beach, Florida Leads Congressional Debate Team as National Champion

PLANTATION, Fla., Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Congressional debate and politics is not foreign to Jonathan Bogen, a sophomore at American Heritage School in Delray Beach, Florida, whose father, Commissioner Mark Bogen, is the Mayor of Broward County.

Jonathan recently earned the National Champion title at the GMU (George Mason University) Patriot Games Classic, one of the most rigorous national speech and debate competitions in the U.S.

His coach, Mr. PJ Samorian, a Chicago native and founding faculty member of the Harvard Debate Camp Workshops, has worked with Jonathan for four years and says he is a dedicated researcher, he's always prepared for tournaments, and open to coaching. "That is really what propelled him in the final round at George Mason." As Samorian sat in the final round of GMU and watched Jonathan's first speech, he thought to himself, "That Jonathan just hit a homerun."

Jonathan is quiet, but when it comes time to deliver he does. Samorian comments about when Jonathan helped coach a new student at the school who went on to place top 5 in the middle school national tournament.

Jonathan began competing in middle school, and two years later he was novice state champion. Now he is a national champion as a sophomore, which, according to Samorian, is unusual that sophomores win major college-hosted tournaments; usually it's juniors and seniors.

"Winning a tournament like GMU would never be possible without the opportunities and incredible coaching staff provided by AHS," says Jonathan. "I'm lucky to be part of a school community that helps us to achieve our goals."

Samorian adds, "I see myself as a sports coach in that I prepare the kids mentally for how to become a champion." Not just a speech, he says, but the mental part of how to become number one.

Jonathan heeds the advice of his coach: Trust your instincts–you know what you need to do and when to do it. That's what makes him a speech and debate national champion.

SOURCE American Heritage School Boca/Delray