Faculty
Matthew Scarola
Matt graduated magna cum laude from Columbia University, with a B.A. in Political Science. As a debater, Matthew was the Champion of the Harvard National Invitational, Lexington Winter Classic, and Big Bronx tournaments. He was also the runner-up at the 2004 CFL National Tournament and had a 15-1 outround record at TOC bid tournaments his senior year. Matthew was an assistant debate coach at Lexington High School for four years, where he helped several students qualify States, Nationals, and the TOC. Matthew was also successful in college parliamentary debate; by his second year of competition he was ranked 8th in the country and held a position on the executive board of the American Parliamentary Debate Association.
Angela Zhu
Angela Zhu is a Presidential Honors Scholar at New York University, where she studies International Relations and Religious Studies. She also studied at the American University of Paris during the 2007 fall semester. Angela debated for four years at Perkiomen Valley High School. In Lincoln-Douglas Debate, she was the 2003 Southeastern Pennsylvania Debate League Champion, a national qualifier to CFL Nationals in 2004 and also an elimination round participant at the Pennsbury Debate Invitational in 2004 and 2005. In Public Forum Debate, Angela is a three-time NFL qualifier and two-time champion from the Valley Forge District. In 2004, she reached the elimination rounds at NFL Nationals and her team's overall performance record is nearly undefeated.
Katie Poulos
Katie is a Philosophy, Politics & Economics major at Penn with a concentration in Distributive Justice. She debated for four years at Highland Park Senior High School in St. Paul, MN where she was top-ranked nationally in Lincoln- Douglass debate. She was a three time qualifier to the National Tournament of Champions, with a top 16 finish her senior year. Katie also won multiple top speaker awards and competed in the prestigious Greenhill and MBA round robins. Katie recently spent a semester abroad in Athens, Greece, where she studied philosophy and political science. At Penn, Katie is actively involved with the Ultimate Frisbee team. In addition to her work with Perspectives, she was the youth outreach director for a local nonprofit, the Philadelphia Area Disc Alliance (PADA), in summer of 2008.
Ali Huberlie
During her three-year national circuit debate career, Ali collected fourteen bids to the Tournament of Champions, fully qualifying to the tournament three times. In her senior year, she advanced to quarter-finals of the TOC; she was also the 5th speaker. Additionally, by the end of her senior year, Ali had championed the Harvard National Invitational, and the Vassar, Skyway, and Victory Briefs Sophomore Round Robins. Finally, she placed second at both the Greenhill and MBA Round Robins, and advanced to out-rounds at every single national circuit tournament she attended her junior and senior years.
Alok Choksi
Alok Choksi competed in Lincoln-Douglas debate, Student Congress, and Extemporaneous Speaking events during high school. He reached elimination rounds at Homewood, Saint James, Vestavia Hills, the Crestian, Wake Forest, Emory, and Lexington, and received TOC bids at St. James and Wake Forest. Alok was an NFL Semi-Finalist in Congress and completed NFLs with Top 30 finish in Lincoln-Douglas debate. Alok is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kevin Cotter
Kevin Cotter competed in Lincoln-Douglas for Cary Academy in Cary, North Carolina. He reached elimination rounds at Wake Forest and the Crestian. Kevin won his NFL district qualifying tournament his junior and senior years, and closed out the North Carolina state tournament his senior year. He completed NFLs with a Top 30 finish in Lincoln-Douglas his senior year. Kevin is currently a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in English.
Lindsay Dolan
Lindsay Dolan debated for the Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. She was a three-time TOC qualifier, where she reached elimination rounds each year, finishing with a Quarter-Finalist performance at the TOC her senior year and an Octo-Finalist performance her sophomore and junior years. Lindsay had third place finishes at Emory University's Barkley Forum and the Minneapple and was twice a finalist at the Vassar Round Robin. She was the Top Speaker at Valley, Blake, Stanford, and Vassar. Lindsay currently attends Swarthmore College.
Joan Gass
Joan Gass debated for the Hockaday School in Dallas, Texas. She was a finalist at the NFL National Tournament her senior year. Joan qualified for the Tournament of Champions three times. Her senior year she was undefeated in preliminary rounds, Top Speaker, and a semi-finalist at the tournament. She also reached semi-finals at the Texas Forensics Association State Championship. Throughout her career, she reached late elimination rounds of Greenhill, St. Marks and Stanford, with first place finishes at the Lexington Invitational & Round Robin, Bronx New York City Invitational, Texas Lone Star Round Robin, and Iowa Round Robin. She was Top Speaker at The Greenhill Fall Classic, Vassar Round Robin, and Lexington Invitational. Joan currently attends Yale University.
Aaseesh Polavarapu
Aaseesh Polavarapu competed for Brentwood High School in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Student Congress, and Extemporaneous Speaking. He qualified to the TOC in his junior year, earning bids at the Wake Forest National Earlybird and the Florida Blue Key. During his senior year, he was the champion of the Vestavia Hills Over the Mountain Classic. He attended the NFL National tournament three times during his career and finished in the top 20 Lincoln-Douglas debaters as a senior. Aaseesh currently attends the University of Pennsylvania.