Lydia Wang debated for Sammamish High School for four years, during which time she accumulated six TOC bids, multiple round robin invites, and qualified to NSDA nationals thrice. She currently competes as part of the Honors Debate Program at the University of Houston in Policy Debate and coaches multiple TOC-qualified debaters in LD.
Blake Andrews, director of debate at McNeil High School in Austin, Texas, hails originally from Dallas, Texas. He earned a bachelor's in government with a minor in philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin. With over a decade of experience in speech and debate, Andrews has coached students to success at various prestigious tournaments, including UT, TFA State, St. Marks, Isidore Newman, Stanford, Churchill, NSDA nationals, and Grapevine. In his current role, Andrews' students have achieved victories in LD, PF, Extemporaneous Speaking, among others. He firmly believes that debate serves as a platform for students to delve into philosophy, politics, economics, and engage with challenging literature. Dedicated to enhancing debate programs in public schools, Andrews is committed to ensuring more students can benefit from this enriching activity. He eagerly anticipates his upcoming work at the University of Houston this summer.
Eric Schwerdtfeger holds a bachelor's in english and an master's in curriculum development and instruction from Texas A&M University. He currently serves as the director of debate for Dulles High School (formerly Westside and Magnolia). Schwerdtfeger has instructed courses including English II and III, AP Psychology, and AP Research. His students have achieved notable successes at events such as TOC, NSDA Nationals, TFA State, UIL State, and HUDL City Championship. He frequently serves as a judge for both local Houston competitions and the national circuit. Schwerdtfeger's coaching and judging interests encompass a wide range of debate styles, from policy disputes to examinations of moral philosophy and critical scholarship. He has a passion for exploring debate theory and the historical contexts that shape contemporary discourse. Beyond debate, Eric enjoys reading, hiking, board games, exercise, cooking, and spending quality time with his family.
Ella Huang debated for four years at St. Agnes Academy. Some of her accomplishments include acquiring eight bids to the TOC, qualifying to TFA State 4x, quarters of Greenhill, Nano Nagle, Apple Valley, and Harvard-Westlake, semis of Strake, finals of TFA State, and championing UH. She also received top speaker at Glenbrooks and 3rd speaker at TOC. Ella's excited to teach at the University of Houston this summer!
Maria Fai debated at Cy-Fair High School for three years. She primarily competed in LD in the TFA, UIL, and NSDA circuits. During her time in debate, she qualified to TFA state twice and NSDA nationals three times. Outside of debate, she loves to sew, cook, and watch movies. She is really excited to teach at the UH camp this summer!
Kaine Cherry has been an active participant in the debate community since 2006, starting his journey in high school with policy debate. As a high school competitor, Kaine made his mark nationally, finishing in tenth place at the 2010 NSDA National Tournament. He continued his debate career at the University of Oklahoma from 2010 to 2015, achieving notable success as a two-time NDT Octafinalist and a CEDA Nationals Semifinalist.
With over 13 years of coaching experience, Kaine has guided numerous students to the elimination rounds of prestigious tournaments such as the TOC, CEDA, and NDT. He also spent three years coaching middle school Public Forum and Lincoln Douglas in California, leading his teams to strong performances at the State tournament and the Middle School TOC.
Kaine’s coaching philosophy emphasizes the development of fundamental skills that are applicable across various debate formats. He is dedicated to creating a fun and focused learning environment that engages students and enhances their argumentative strengths as well as, intellectual interests.
Outside of debate, Kaine enjoys cooking and playing 2D fighting games like Street Fighter and Melty Blood: Type Lumina.
Clement Agho-Otoghile currently serves as the co-chair of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate Wording Committee for the National Speech and Debate Association. Clement was a LD debater at both Dulles Middle and High School. He has successfully coached middle and high school debate teams for over a decade. The debaters he has helped coach have won championships, and a plethora of other awards, at: NSDA Nationals, TOC, TFA State, UIL State, and a host of other prestigious tournaments. He frequently judges LD rounds, in various debate leagues across the country, namely at: Houston/Texas tournaments, national circuit tournaments, and national tournaments. Clement has had the opportunity to teach a variety of academic disciplines including debate in private, public, and charter schools, from early childhood through Early College. He not only holds a master’s degree in education, but also, as a proud University of Houston alumnus, a bachelor's degree in political science.