Student Leadership Council

Nora will take any excuse to be on stage. Whether singing, acting, dancing, professing her love of American History, or winning a trophy, she craves to be in front of a crowd. She is so excited to be on the brand new stage of the NSDA’s Student Leadership Council, and even more honored to represent the wonderful state of Colorado. Nora spends most of her time in the world of Congressional Debate, where she is a Colorado state finalist, the captain of her school’s Congress team, and fights the Colorado point leaderboard every weekend. She has had amazing experiences and opportunities around Colorado and even at the Harvard Debate Summer Workshop in Cambridge this past summer. This year, she will explore Public Forum, Lincoln-Douglas, and Drama, but will continue intensely with Congressional Debate on the local circuit and national circuit. Outside of debate, Nora excels in music and theater. A total music theory nerd, she has played the piano for three years, viola for four, and the violin for more than 12 years. Nora is a proud member of her school’s top chambers singers and accomplished theater ensemble, with a two-time state championship in improvisational theater. She’s also an officer in the Thespian Honors Society (Troupe 5996) and starts her school’s first ever English Honors Society as president this year. Nora is also a member of the Colorado Youth Congress where she extends her love for advocacy and community service to work on state-wide projects with leaders across Colorado. She is an active volunteer in her community, and particularly loves volunteering and learning about dinosaur fossils at the notorious Denver Museum of Nature and Science. In her free time, Nora enjoys music theory, politics, instagramming, singing tags with friends, and most importantly, having new adventures every day with her family and friends.

Aaimah has competed in speech for four years. This is Aaimah’s second year being a captain on the speech team, competing in Impromptu and United States Extemporaneous Speaking. Aaimah has gotten the privilege to attend NSDA Nationals twice, and in 2023 made the national final stage in Impromptu. Aaimah hopes to make speech a more accessible activity for all so that more and more students can amplify their voices. Aaimah’s favorite part about speech as an activity is the friendships they have made and the leadership skills they have gained.

Hi, my name is Meherika Majumdar I’m a senior and this my fourth year in debate. I primarily compete in public forum, but I have also done other non-NSDA public speaking events like mock trial and MUN. I have won domestic PF tournaments in Vietnam 3 times so far with an equivalent number of runner’s up. I have also represented Vietnam at Nationals in the 2020-21 season, as wells represented Vietnam at the Digital Speech and Debate e-Championship last year. At my school, I am one of the vice-presidents of our debate program. In my role, I have worked with my peers to expand the PF community around Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and also to other countries in South East Asia, like Singapore. I am super excited to represent the international community in this council and I can’t wait to see what we get done this school year!

Numa has been involved in speech and debate all four years of high school, competing in Declamation and possibly double entering this year. She has qualified for state and national tournaments, breaking into quarterfinals her sophomore year at states. She is captain of her speech and debate team, focusing on coaching novices, middle schoolers, and anyone who seeks help. She also runs her school’s speech and debate Instagram, allowing people to see just how fun this activity is—taking viewers through a typical Saturday at a tournament, recognizing her teammates who perform exceptionally at tournaments, and promoting upcoming team events are just a few of the things that are posted to the team’s account. In addition, Numa helps plan events for her team. They have “Speech and Sweets” at the end of every season where they send off their seniors, recognize other teammates, and enjoy yummy desserts with a few performances. Apart from speech and debate, she is on the varsity tennis team, plays the flute, and aids in community food banks. Numa enjoys traveling to India every year to visit her family, baking, and eating out with her friends and family, trying new restaurants. She is so grateful to be a part of the SLC, facilitating change in the speech and debate community.

John is a senior at Springfield Catholic High School with a passion for debate. Over the last five years, he has competed in Lincoln- Douglas, Congress, and Public Forum. His dedication has earned him a national ranking in the top 15 in Extemporaneous Debate and a spot as a national congressional semifinalist. Currently, John serves as a student representative for the Ozark District, developing social media strategies and spearheading outreach initiatives for one of the largest districts in the nation. In addition to leading his school’s debate team, John is president of Springfield Catholic DECA, a business and entrepreneurship club. His passion for business strategy is highlighted by his multiple state championships and a third place finish at the international level for his start-up business plan. Outside of competition, John is the founder of Legislate, an app designed to streamline Congressional Debate. Whether traveling, building websites for nonprofits, or binging the latest season of “Formula 1: Drive to Survive,”  his dedication and determination are limitless. John looks forward to an incredible year with the SLC.

Esther is in her fourth year in speech and debate, competing in several categories including 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 two-time, back-to-back NSDA national champion in Original Oratory. Outside of speech, you’ll find Esther being a leader in the Black Student Union, First Priority, and National Honor Society. Esther is so excited to give back to a community that has given her so much and can’t wait to see what the Student Leadership Council will do!

Gabriel can be best described as considerate, concentrated, and off-puttingly caustic. He currently serves as team president for the Clear Brook High School debate team and competes in World Schools Debate. Having started debate his freshman year, Gabriel considers his role on the Student Leadership Council an important opportunity to give back to the speech and debate community through meaningful advocacy. Other speech activities include being a speaker in the 2023 TEDxClearBrookHighSchool program, during which he delivered a talk about the appropriation of Mexican cultures in the U.S. and the ongoing commodification of Frida Kahlo’s art. Beyond debate, Gabriel serves as editor-in-chief for his school’s Literary Magazine (which he founded in 2022), as well as being president of the Model UN team, Rho Kappa (which he also founded), Eco Club, and the STEM-based volunteer organization CORES. After school, Gabriel can usually be found at the bowling alley, an activity which he does recreationally through his school’s varsity bowling team as well as semi-professionally, serving on the Board of Directors for both the Greater Houston Area, and Texas State USBC Associations. A lifelong creative, Gabriel recently had the opportunity to direct his first short film, a project which was selected for the largest student film festival in the country. Lastly, Gabriel finds that the best way to destress is simply to kick back and listen to really good music, especially Charly García, Isabella Lovestory, and/or Elliott Smith.

Hayden has competed in speech and debate for seven years, competing in everything from Congressional Debate to Prose. Locally, Hayden competes on the reigning Kentucky state champion team and is the first person in his team’s history to be state champion in Program Oral Interpretation. Nationally, he has qualified for the NSDA National Tournament each year and advanced to quarterfinals in Extemporaneous Speaking at NCFLs. Besides being a captain on his speech team, he is also a president of his school’s Student Government Association and a legislative coordinator/board member of the Kentucky Student Voice Team, a nonprofit organization dedicated to uplifting student voice in Kentucky. He loves to talk about politics, cats, and anything Kentucky. Hayden is honored to be serving as a member of the NSDA Student Leadership Council.