Ben debated for Durham for three years where he achieved extensive success both on the local and national level. Most notably, he was the 2024 NSDA National Champion, 2023 National Runner-Up, semi-finalist at the gold TOC, and 2023 NC state champion. On the national circuit, Ben achieved a top—10 national ranking for two back-to-back seasons, was the champion of Princeton, Yale, Duke, and the King Round Robin, and amassed over 10 gold bids. He’s incredibly excited to work with and help you grow this summer at ISD!
Type: Junior
Bailey Koh
Bailey debated for four years at Southlake Carroll where he served as the Co-President of Speech and Debate. He has amassed a total of 9 bids to the Tournament of Champions in his career, qualifying three times and reaching the semifinals of Silver TOC his junior year. Additionally, he has attended NSDA Nationals twice, placing 6th as a sophomore and winning as a junior. Other notable achievements include, championing CSU, semifinaling UT, and getting speaker awards at TFA state, TOC, and Glenbrooks. Outside of debate, Bailey enjoys playing basketball and reading lightnovels.
Esther Oyetunji
Esther has done Speech and Debate for four years, competing in several categories such as Informative Speaking, Original Oratory, and Program Oral Interpretation. As a member of the American Heritage Speech team she has championed various tournaments ranging from Florida Varsity State, The Barkley Forum at Emory University, and Harvard University’s International Tournament. Most notably, she is a three time, back-to-back-to-back NSDA National Champion in Original Oratory. Esther is so excited to give back to a community that has given her so much!
Amy Cao
Amy Cao is a current senior at Ridge High School in New Jersey, where she competes in Extemporaneous Speaking and Impromptu Speaking. She is a two-time invitee to the MBA Round Robin, and in her junior year, Amy placed 2nd at NCFLs and 3rd at TOCs in Extemp, as well as 4th at NSDAs in Impromptu. In addition to reaching final rounds at Harvard, the NYC Invitational, Durham, and UPenn, she has also championed Princeton, Pennsbury, and her district tournament. In 2023, Amy served as Extemp Captain for her team. Outside of speech, she loves Taylor Swift, watching soccer, and replaying her favorite movies! Amy is an ISD alum, and she can’t wait to work with everyone this summer!
Alex Huang
Alex debated for four years at Durham Academy, winning multiple national championships, including the Tournament of Champions (Gold) and NCFL Grand Nationals, ranking #1 in PF nationally for the 2022-2023 season (DD Rankings). As a junior, they were the Yale Invitational co-champion, the PF state champion, and a three-time qualifier to the TOC and NSDA tournaments. Outside of debate, Alex likes photography, soccer, and cooking, and is super excited to work with students at ISD!
Michael Hansen
Michael debated for four years at Durham Academy, winning three national championships, including the Tournament of Champions (Gold), NCFL Grand Nationals, and NDCA National Novice Championship, and ranking #1 in PF nationally for the 2022-2023 season (DD Rankings). As a junior, he was the Yale Invitational co-champion, the King Round Robin top speaker & co-champion, the PF state champion, and a three-time qualifier to the TOC and NSDA tournaments. Beyond competition, Michael enjoys hanging out with friends and family and helping others achieve their goals in Speech & Debate!
Stella Wu
Stella debated for Taipei American School for four years and served as both the President of Speech & Debate as well as the Public Forum captain. On the circuit, Stella has been ranked consistently in the Top 10 PF teams, and as high as the top team in the country. She won 3rd place at the 2023 National Speech & Debate Tournament in PF, becoming the highest-ranking female debater that year. Stella also championed the Stanford Invitational, the UK Season Opener, and the Harvard Round Robin. She has also either championed or finaled her State qualifiers in the past three years and reached deep elimination rounds at Apple Valley, Sunvitational, and the TOC, amassing seven gold bids in her career. Outside of debate, Stella is a published poet and an online tutor for math and history, and she enjoys reading One Piece in her free time. She is very excited to join the ISD family and work with everyone this summer!
Sienna Vaughn
Sienna is a senior at Flintridge Preparatory School in La Cañada, California. She started Public Forum in 7th grade, qualifying for TOC and NSDA Nationals in her freshman, sophomore, and junior year. She has accumulated 23 career bids to the Tournament of Champions and has been ranked first nationally by the NSDA in Public Forum points and the NDCA, winning the Tim Averill Cup for season-long excellence in her junior year. She and her partner went 7-0 in Gold TOC prelims, got 3rd place at NSDA nationals, were California State Champions, and have reached late elimination rounds at many tournaments such as Glenbrooks, Ivy Street Round Robin, Yale, Berkeley, James Logan, UK, and more. She is the overall captain of her school’s 95-person speech and debate team and has spent years teaching Public Forum at over five debate programs. She can’t wait for this summer at ISD!
Jade Ismail
Jade Ismail competed for four years at Comeaux High School in Louisiana. She is the 2022 NSDA National Champion in Program of Oral Interp, the 2022 Emory Champion in Oratory, and the 2023 3rd Place finisher at Emory in Oratory. She has also reached final rounds in both Interp and Platform events at tournaments across the country. She is excited to be joining the ISD family and can’t wait to bring some southern HEAT to ISD: Carolina this summer! She can’t wait to see you there!
Parker De Deker
Parker is a senior at Neenah High School in Wisconsin and is currently the President of his Speech & Debate Team. Parker offers a diverse, six-year Speech & Debate experience to ISD, ranging from Original Oratory, Impromptu, Extemp, and Program Oral Interp to Public Forum, Lincoln Douglas, and Congressional Debate. In his career, Parker has championed the Wisconsin State Tournament in Impromptu and Finaled in Extemp. Additionally, he has broken to out rounds at Florida Blue Key, Harvard, and Barkley Forum, Finaled at Glenbrooks, Princeton, Blake, and Cabot, Championed the Plano Classic, Was the National Runner-Up at NCFL Grand Nationals in D.C. and Championed the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Congressional Debate: House, was the Final Round Presiding Officer, and House Leadership Bowl Winner in June of 2022. Through accumulating 16+ Lifetime Bids to the UKTOC, 4 to NIETOC, and 3 Qualifications to both National Tournaments and work experience with political and governmental organizations, Parker is excited to emphasize the importance of external application of Speech & Debate skills in the real world.
Parker looks to work with students on gaining confidence, growing their self-esteem, developing nuanced argumentation and powerful rhetoric, and employing academic diction in their speeches to win a debate by proving their comprehensive understanding of a topic or policy and convince their chamber and judges, that they are standing on the right side of history.