National Representatives
Tristan Zvolensky is a sophomore at the Houston Academy for International Studies in Houston, Texas. Tristan was fortunate enough to join Public Forum debate four years ago and she is now Vice President of her school's debate team. Tristan qualified for Nationals her freshman year, serves as the secretary for her school's student council, and is a member of HISD Student Congress. To escape the stressful world of academia, Tristan gets a ball kicked at her face for an hour and a half during soccer practice and converses with her contemporaries, also known as friends.
Tristan Zvolensky
Houston, TX
Kristina is a junior at Seven Lakes High School in Houston, Texas. Kristina is a Lincoln-Douglas debater with a background in Congress, Public Forum, and Policy debate. She debates on national and local circuits and participates in speech events through the encouragement of her largely speech-focused high school. Along with debate, Kristina is a violinist in her school's symphony and top orchestra, a former varsity swimmer and President of the National Junior Honor Society, and currently serves as the Vice President of the Pre-med Society.
Kristina Zheng
Houston, TX
Peter Charalambous
Long Island, NY
Peter is a senior at Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York. Peter has competed in Lincoln Douglas, Public Forum and Worlds Schools Debate styles. He has also regularly competed in Extemporaneous Speaking. At Chaminade, Peter serves as a Captain of the Speech and Debate Team, Editor-in-Chief of Tarmac, the school's newspaper, and President of the Economics Club. As for somethings cool, Peter is currently learning to play banjo and loves chocolate ice cream.
Bailey is a senior at Blue Springs High School in Blue Springs, Missouri. Bailey has been a member of speech in debate for six years and is currently the president of her school's National Speech and Debate Association chapter. Bailey loves dogs, theatre, and making people laugh. In the future, Bailey hopes to become a speech coach and theatre director and interpret American Sign Language. She wants to share what she loves to do with people who are eager to learn.
Bailey Gerecke
Kansas City, MO
Aly is a sophomore at Liberty Senior High School in Kansas City, Missouri. This is Aly's second year on the speech and debate team. She generally competes in Public Forum, Congress, Oratory, and Humorous Interpretation. Last year, Aly attended Nationals for Humorous Interpretation. Aly is also involved in Mock Trial, Model United Nations, Student council, Key club, Young Democrats, and Women's issues now. A personal hobby of Aly's is improv, as she is in a comedy improv troupe called Exit 1-6 and has hopes of one day training in improv at Second City in Chicago.
Aly Oldham
Kansas City, MO
Cynthia is a sophomore at Lexington High School in Lexington, Massachusetts. This is Cynthia's second year as a Lincoln Douglas debater. Last year, as a novice, Cynthia broke at States and finished in the Top 8. Cynthia has also consistently broke at national circuit tournaments. Debate has made her realize the importance of keeping up with what is happening in the news and the issues that the world faces today. Cynthia believes that all students should get the opportunity to partake in debate, as it not only makes one a more proficient speaker, but it also allows for high school students to increase interactions with other individuals from all over the world.
Cynthia Chen
Lexington, MA
Joyce is a junior at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, California. Joyce has been involved in Speech and Debate for 3 years. She started out doing Parliamentary debate, but has also competed in Public Forum, Policy, and Impromptu speaking. This year, Joyce became a member of the Student Leadership Committee of the National Speech and Debate Association and serves as the committee's policy proposal assistant director with a focus on debate. Apart from her involvement with Forensics, Joyce is also on her school's Academic Team and plays varsity badminton.
Joyce Li
San Diego, CA
Ariana is a senior at Cooper City High School in Miami, Florida. Ariana competes in OI, OO, and Duo Interpretation. Ariana has qualified for Nationals and she placed 8th at the Princeton Classic her sophomore year. Ariana serves as a co-captain for Interp on her team. Ariana love cats and playing saxophone, and her favorite ice cream flavor is peppermint chocolate chip which is only available during the holidays.
Ariana Millian
Michelle Huang
San Francisco, CA
Michelle is a junior at Irvington High School in San Francisco, California. This is Michelle's fifth year competing in speech and debate. Over her career, she has competed in Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas, Parliamentary, Congress, OI, OO, Impromptu, and Extemp. Michelle is currently President of the Speech team and Captain of the Debate team, so you could probably say that she doesn't have much of a life. When Michelle isn't filing, cutting cards, or talking to walls, you'll most likely find her trying to do a terrible interpretation of Frank Underwood. Michelle is particularly fond of shiny objects (especially in the form of trophies), international politics, postmodern philosophy, and leather jackets.
Miami, FL
Katherine Gan
Raleigh, NC
Katherine is a junior at Enloe High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Katherine currently competes in Congressional Debate, an event that mimicks the U.S. Congress. Originally, Katherine joined speech and debate because she liked arguing and proving others wrong. It was only after becoming a "Senator" did she realize that speech and debate was not just about refutation or argumentation; rather, it was about giving those unheard a voice. That's why Katherine is excited to be a part of the Speak Up Initiative this year and to promote speech and debate in North Carolina and beyond, ensuring students have the opportunity to speak up and make their voices heard.