Silicon Valley Public Speaking Organization
The Moving Forces!!
_edited.jpg)
Khedaar Kashyap
I’m Khedaar and I'm one of the SVPSO instructors. I’m a rising Junior at Leland High School, located in the Bay Area. I have competed at over 30 tournaments over 2 years, winning the University in Puget Sound, placing 4th at Santa Clara University, and 11th at NSDA Nationals in Extemporaneous Debate. This year, I qualified for the 5 major tournaments, from California State to NSDA Nationals. My hobbies include playing basketball, learning about international affairs, and playing the Indian classical drums. I can’t wait to teach this summer and look forward to working with all of you!
Saanvi Deb
My name is Saanvi and I'm one of the SVPSO instructors. I am a rising Junior at Leland High School, located in the Bay Area. I am a semifinalist in the Original Oratory category at Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL). Additionally, I placed 2nd in the Stanford Palm Classic in Humorous Interpretation and qualified for States (California) in the Original Oratory category. I enjoy art and have been pursuing it for the past 4 years. I am excited to teach at SVPSO this summer.
Ameya Kiwalkar
Hello, I am Ameya Kiwalkar, a rising Junior at Leland High School in the Bay Area and I'm one of your SVPSO instructors. I do Policy Debate and Congress at Leland Speech & Debate. Over the past 2 years, I have competed in over 20 tournaments, qualifying for the NSDA Nationals Tournament twice (in my Freshmen and Sophomore years) in Policy Debate! Also, I was an Alternate for Policy States Tournament, a Policy Semifinalist at the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL) Tournament, and a Finalist at the National Qualifiers for Congress. My hobbies include playing the piano and managing my own financial investment portfolio.
Keshav Rastogi
Hi! I’m Keshav and I am a rising Junior at Monta Vista High School. Most of my experience in the debate has been in Lincoln Douglas but I understand the format of almost every event. In Lincoln Douglas, I’ve reached prelims at the Tournament of Champions and was one round away from qualifying for both states and nationals. I also founded a debate club at my middle school, and we had amazing success (top 4 at MSTOC) in our first year. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to teach you debate and hope you all have fun and fall in love with the activity!
Jaden Bae
Hello, my name is Jaden, and I’m a rising Junior at Monta Vista High School and have extensive experience in parliamentary procedure debate. In addition to debate, I’m also a DECA officer and have gotten international and national recognition at FBLA and DECA events. Through speech, debate, DECA, & FBLA, I have obtained a solid foundation of what works well in public speaking as well as things to avoid, and I’m super excited to help provide you the skills that you need in order to get competitive success.
Gaurav Rao
Hi, I’m Gaurav and I'm one of the SVPSO instructors. I’m a rising junior at Leland High School, located in the Bay Area. I do Public Forum and Duo Interpretation. I have competed at over 12 tournaments this year, reaching the finals in California State Qualifiers and making elimination rounds at Santa Clara University and Berkeley Invitationals. My hobbies include watching basketball and programming. I can't wait to share my passion for debate with everyone this summer!
Allen Liu
Hey everyone! My name is Allen and I'm a rising junior at Leland High School in the Bay Area. My experience has been centered around Public Forum Debate, but I believe that all events in Speech and Debate come down to speaking with clarity and emphasis. This season, I competed at 9 tournaments, reaching finals at the State Championship Qualifiers, and breaking at Berkeley. I was also an SVUDL (Silicon Valley Urban Debate League) Double-Octafinalist this year and an SVUDL Quarterfinalist last year. I'm also a huge fan of baseball and the San Francisco Giants. Speech and Debate are a passion of mine and I love to share it with others! I can't wait to teach everyone!
Jack Barlow
Hi, I’m Jack Barklow and I’m a rising junior at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City Utah! I’ve done public forum debate for both years of high school and love debate so much! While I mostly do public forums, I have done Policy and have a good understanding of tech debate. I’ve been successful in the Utah circuit, reaching 6th place in both regional and state competitions in the last 2 years. I also do FBLA and DECA, but I spend the vast majority of my time outside of school working on the debate. I’m super excited to be able to work with all of you and I look forward to this summer!
Raahil Sengupta
Hello! My name is Raahil Sengupta, and I am a rising Sophomore at Leland High School, in San Jose, California. For the past year, I have competed in Lincoln Douglas and Congressional debate, though I also have experience in Original Oratory and Public Forum. A few of my Congressional Debate accolades include tournament championing the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League tournament and being an alternate to the California High School Speech Association state tournament. Outside of debate, my interests are sports, business, and finance. I am looking forward to working with you this summer!
Zayyan Agbotwalla
Hey! I'm Zayyan, a junior at Leland High School with a passion for speech and debate. I compete in Impromptu and Public Forum, becoming a finalist in tournaments like the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League and the Evergreen Invitational. I've actively participated in multiple tournaments, continually refining my skills. Beyond debate, I enjoy competing in archery and watching football. I am super excited to teach all of you this summer at SVPSO!
Hi, I'm Litong and I'm an experienced debater and instructor at SVPSO. I've achieved success in multiple tournaments, including final-ing twice at the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League in Open Congressional Debate and the Evergreen Invitational in Open Public Forum Debate. I've also reached finals at the National Qualifiers twice in Congressional Debate: House, and placed 3rd at State Qualifiers as a Presiding Officer. Outside of Speech and Debate, I'm a chess enthusiast and a prolific reader. Whether you're an experienced debater or new to the activity, I'm excited to work with you this summer and help you achieve your goals.
Litong Nie
James Yu
Hey, everyone! I'm James Yu, and I'm currently a sophomore at Leland High School in San Jose, California. I actively participate in various debate events such as Public Forum Debate, Extemporaneous Speaking, Congressional Debate, and Lincoln Douglas Debate. Throughout my journey in Public Forum, I have achieved notable placements, including Quarterfinals at Stephen Stewart and SVUDL, as well as Triple Octofinals at Columbia and James Logan. Apart from my involvement in debate, I absolutely love indulging in delicious food, spending quality time with my friends, strumming my guitar, and catching up on some much-needed sleep! I'm really excited about the opportunity to collaborate with all of you this summer. Let's make it a fantastic experience together!
Shloka Chawla
Hello! My name is Shloka, and I’m a rising Sophomore at Leland High School, located in the Bay Area. This past season, I’ve participated in 9 tournaments with my focus centered on Impromptu and Extemporaneous Speaking. This year I have placed 2nd at the Stanford Invitational and Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL) in Junior Varsity Impromptu and Open Extemporaneous Speaking respectively. Additionally, I placed 1st at the Springboard December Capstone hosted by NSDA in Open Impromptu. Outside of Speech and Debate, I’ve been a competitive tennis player for the past seven years, and I also love to draw and paint. I am so excited to work with you all this summer and provide you with the skills to reach your goals!
Noel Thomas
Hey guys! I'm Noel Thomas, and I'm a rising sophomore at Leland High School in the Bay Area. I will also be an instructor at SVPSO! I'm a highly experienced competitor in both Oratorical Interpretation and Humorous Interpretation. Some of my notable achievements in the Silicon Valley Urban Debate League(SVUDL) include: Quarterfinals at the James Logan MLK Invitational in HI, Alternate for OI at the State Championship, and breaking to finals several times at the SVUDL League Tournaments, in both OI and HI. Aside from speech, I love to watch/play basketball, bike, talk all things tech, and do Bollywood dance. I'm so excited to teach you all this summer at SVPSO!
Anish Bhethanabotla
Hey, I'm Anish and I'm one of the SVPSO instructors. I am a rising Lynbrook High School Junior in the Bay Area. I received 2 silver bids in my freshman year in Public Forum Debate reaching quarters at Silicon Valley Urban Debate League (SVUDL) and Octofinals at Nano Nagle. Through my debate tournaments, I've faced off against many good teams and have significantly grown my debating skills. I'm excited to teach this summer!
Nikita Parakala
Sebastian Lee
Vidyut Hegde
Hey! My name is Nikita and I'm a rising senior at Leland High School in the Bay Area. I have been competing in tournaments for speech and debate since middle school. I was the tournament champion at Claremont Invitational in POI, program oral interpretation. I have also been to the state and national qualifying tournament every year of high school in POI. In my free time I like to play tennis and sing Indian classical music. I am excited to teach this summer!
Hi! My name is Sebastian Lee and I’m a rising junior at Skyline Highschool. Me and my partner Jack have been debating since our freshmen year and have gone to quarterfinals at our state and region tournaments in SLC Utah. We have consistently placed top 5 in all 10 of our tournaments for the 2022-2023 school year. My hobbies include reading, writing, and learning languages. I’m excited to meet you guys in camp!
Hey everyone - I'm Vidyut V. Hegde, a rising junior in Leland High's class of 2025. I'm from the Bay Area, namely, San José, California. I've been an enthusiastic participant in interpretation events since sixth grade, making my junior year my sixth year of Speech & Debate. My career in interpretation has been an eventful one, resulting in rankings such as the top sixth competitor entered in OPP for the State tournament of 2023. As my passion for interpretation continues to grow, I look forward to supporting the talents of everyone I receive the opportunity to teach.
Arion Habibvand
Hello, I'm Arion, a junior at Leland High School. My debate journey has led me through Impromptu and Public Forum, with my initial two years dedicated to Policy Debate. I'm adept at both spontaneous speech and evidence-intensive debate formats, having actively participated in tournaments hosted by the Coast Forensic League and Silicon Valley Urban Debate League. Beyond the world of debate, my interests extend to sports, with a particular passion for playing and watching basketball.
Prateek Nedugadi
Hello, everyone! I'm Prateek Nedungadi, a junior at Leland High School. My journey in speech and debate has spanned five years, commencing in 7th grade and continuing through 11th grade. In the realm of debate, I've dedicated three years to policy debate, earning recognition with a quarter-finals award at the Berkeley tournament.
Additionally, I've engaged in Impromptu for the entirety of my five-year tenure. Beyond the world of speech and debate, I hold a black belt in Karate and have a keen interest in playing badminton.
Molly Daley
Greetings! I'm Molly Daley, a junior at Leland High School. I've immersed myself in the world of Speech and Debate for three years, focusing primarily on Interpretation events like Duo and Humorous Interpretation.
When I'm not perfecting my speaking skills, you can find me engrossed in historical fiction and dystopian novels or delving into the fascinating realm of airplanes and flight. A quirky tidbit about me: my sense of humor tends to traverse unexpected and diverse territories. Looking forward to connecting with you!