Maia describes herself as a dreamer — but not an airhead. She is a storyteller and an artist, yet she brings rationality to all her creativity, for one cannot have feeling without logic, nor logic without feeling.

A 10th-grade student, Maia’s main interests include psychology, stories, and philosophy.

She has been debating for a few years now as part of the Better Speakers programme (betterspeakers.eu), and she says it has become an indispensable part of her life. She has taken part in — and won — several debate competitions, but what she finds most meaningful isn’t the results, but how debate itself has changed her as a person.