Wakes up early, eats breakfast, drives to school, attends to his classes, but he also goes to his speech and debate team if he’s not working his full time job at the Cheesecake Factory Restaurant.

Damon Lawson, 23, a participant in the victory El Camino College earned for first place in two Debate competitions, in Sacramento and in San Diego.

“I love performing, I love being in front of people but I get really nervous to the point that sometimes I [feel like] vomiting, but as soon I start speaking, as soon the contest starts, that washes away,” Lawson said.

The experience of doing both, performing and coaching, play two different paper rolls in the life of Lawson, but he finds them challenging and enjoys working under precision.

“Now coaching is a far different nervous feeling, because you’re not longer nervous for yourself, you’re nervous for the individuals you’re now coaching,“ Lawson said.

As a group the debate team is directed by professor of communications Francesca Bishop, who has directed Lawson since he joined the speech and debate team, with the help of the professor Joseph Evans.

“Damon represents continuation for the debate team, like me, like Joseph who was also a student of EC,” Bishop said. “We like to guide students to new opportunities.”

Lawson has also presented oral interpretations, that according to the book Communicating Literature is the fuse of three things “textual analysis, communicative intent, and speaking” which can be performed on stage”.

With a total full theater, Lawson walked to the center of the stage in the middle of a quite audience to performed for everyone there.

“I like the way he expressed. He was very passionate, he got very into the story he told,” Daniela Mejia student of EC said.

During the time Lawson is being at EC and the time he spends with the debate team, all the experience he has acquired has an important value for him.

“I came to El Camino in a very ruff part of my life, I had move to California from Michigan over some problems that I was having in my life,” Lawson said. “