Meet the 2015-2016 Team Milan Amritraj (‘16) – Campbell Hall High School, CA Milan has been competing in speech and debate since the eighth grade and was champion of the Stanford National Invitational, the California Invitational at UC Berkeley, and the CSUF Bruschke Invitational. As an underclassman, he won third place at the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Impromptu Speaking and reached the semifinals in Congressional Debate–Senate. At the state level, Milan placed in the top three in Parliamentary Debate two years in a row and was a finalist in Impromptu Speaking. Internationally, Milan has won awards as a speaker, and with his team, at the EurOpen Championships in Stuttgart, the Slovenian National Debate invitational, and other World Schools tournaments. Apart from debate, Milan is student body president for his school and captain of his tennis team. He also volunteers every summer in India with Sisters of the Poor, a charity designed to help the elderly. Nikolas Angelopoulos (‘16) – Polytechnic School, CA Nikolas has been debating for six years in the MS/HSPDP parliamentary style and has been champion of the Chandler, Campbell Hall, and Polytechnic tournaments. Additionally, he is the two-time national champion in his format. Nik has competed in World Schools Debate since his freshman year and won third place team in China, second in Slovenia, and competed in Thailand and Singapore at the World Championship, where USA Debate placed 10th. Nikolas is the founder and co-coach of his school’s HSPDP debate team, which in its first year won two of the top three team awards at Nationals. When not competing, Nik is president of his school’s student body, the lead singer, guitarist, and composer in a funk-rock band, and holds a patent for a new type of electromagnetic pickup. Sonya Huang (‘16) – Leland High School, CA Sonya has been competing in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Original Oratory, and Dramatic Interpretation since her freshman year, and is the vice president of her school’s speech and debate program. She placed second at the National Speech & Debate Tournament and 13th at CHSSA State in LD, and has experienced success on both the local and national levels. Outside of debate, Sonya is student body president, varsity tennis captain, and an active member of organizations such as National Honor Society and Girls Who Code. She is interested in politics, recently completing an internship with California Assembly member Evan Low, and has volunteered on Congressman Mike Honda’s re-election campaign. Amit Kukreja (‘16) – Science High School, NJ Amit has participated in debate since seventh grade. He has had a strong focus throughout his high school years in Lincoln-Douglas Debate. After winning a total of two debate rounds his sophomore year, he was one of 88 debaters in the country to qualify to the Tournament of Champions in Varsity Lincoln-Douglas Debate his junior year. Amit also had the pleasure of being selected to represent his state of New Jersey in the Worlds School Debate Invitational this past summer in Dallas, Texas. He helped lead his team to the top eight out of 118 teams. Amit won awards at national tournaments across the country including Emory and Berkeley. Amit prides himself on his dedication in debate, his energy in learning new ideas, and his ability to adapt to judges from a variety of backgrounds. He is captain of the Science High School debate team. He loves the city of Newark and continues to give back to the community by helping debaters within the Newark Debate Academy. Julia Lauer (‘16) – The Bronx High School of Science, NY Julia has participated in Congressional Debate since her freshman year. Her competitive highlights include championships at Emory’s Barkley Forum and University School’s Sunvitational. Julia was also a finalist at the Tournament of Champions, the Yale Invitational, the Glenbrooks, Nova Titan, Blake, Harvard, and the National Speech & Debate Tournament (House). She has been ranked as highly as first in the nation in Congressional Debate, and ended her junior year as sixth. Outside of debate, Julia is student body president, founder and president of Women in Business Club, vice president of Math Club, chapter leader for PACT (Public Awareness for Charity By Teens), captain of International Public Policy Forum, and an active member of Model UN, Science Olympiad, and Big Sibs. She is the co-founder of a women’s debate blog, Break the Ceiling, which encourages females in forensics to engage in open and judgment-free discourse.
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Rostrum | FALL 2015