Class of 2023 embarks on its intellectual journey

As the Class of 2023 joins the University of Chicago's intellectual community, five incoming students share their diverse personal stories and what they're looking forward to at UChicago: While many students are attracted to UChicago for its spirit of rigorous inquiry, Brian Li is uniquely positioned for the types of discussions that transpire across house tables and lounges every day on campus. That's because debate is an area in which Li is quite distinguished. Li started debating in eighth grade while attending school in Shanghai, eventually becoming one of the captains of the Chinese national team. He's been ranked as prominently as the third-best high schooler in the world, and he helped China to place first in the 2018 World Schools Debating Championships. While Li started debating for simpler reasons-"I started to realize I really liked arguing with people," he joked-he soon came to appreciate debate as a way to learn new ideas and engage new people. He's competed internationally in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Indonesia and Thailand. But those experiences have helped develop his interests in economics and philosophy.