Student Spotlight: 2020-2021 Season
March 15, 2020
Alex Shan and Hemang Dhaulakhandi
The student spotlight for this week has been given to Alex Shan and Hemang Dhaulakhandi! These two individuals are the Public Forum Captains for our team. For starters, both of them have been putting a lot of time and effort into building a stronger debate team. From creating presentations, to delivering lectures, and judging numerous practice debates, they have been on the grind since day one. They also are really open to feedback. They create polls to determine what the students want on each practice, which displays flexibility. All this hard work has been paying off. The PF team has been doing tremendously well because of Alex and Hemang;. From qualifying to NCFL Nationals, to States, and even Tournament of Champions, the PF team has been extraordinary. Thank you Alex and Hemang for your contribution to this team.
The student spotlight for this week has been given to Alex Shan and Hemang Dhaulakhandi! These two individuals are the Public Forum Captains for our team. For starters, both of them have been putting a lot of time and effort into building a stronger debate team. From creating presentations, to delivering lectures, and judging numerous practice debates, they have been on the grind since day one. They also are really open to feedback. They create polls to determine what the students want on each practice, which displays flexibility. All this hard work has been paying off. The PF team has been doing tremendously well because of Alex and Hemang;. From qualifying to NCFL Nationals, to States, and even Tournament of Champions, the PF team has been extraordinary. Thank you Alex and Hemang for your contribution to this team.
March 8, 2020
Tanya Richards
This week, we would like to spotlight Tanya Richards! Last weekend, Tanya placed 3rd in congressional debate, qualifying to the state tournament in April. Not only that, but she’s been killing it all year, including placing 4th and qualifying for NCFL Nationals, and placing 3rd at our first tournament of the year. Tanya also is the limited prep captain, who’s helping our extemp, impromptu, and parliamentary teams grow. Tanya has both been consistently successful and has helped our team a lot, making her very deserving of the spotlight this week!
This week, we would like to spotlight Tanya Richards! Last weekend, Tanya placed 3rd in congressional debate, qualifying to the state tournament in April. Not only that, but she’s been killing it all year, including placing 4th and qualifying for NCFL Nationals, and placing 3rd at our first tournament of the year. Tanya also is the limited prep captain, who’s helping our extemp, impromptu, and parliamentary teams grow. Tanya has both been consistently successful and has helped our team a lot, making her very deserving of the spotlight this week!
March 1, 2020
Jianna Choi
The student spotlight for this week goes to Jianna Choi! Last weekend, Jianna qualified to states in 2 events, including getting 1st place in Duo Interpretation with her sister. Not only has she been successful all year, but she’s also the captain for our interp team, leading them to an astounding 17 total final rounds this year alone. Great job Jianna!
The student spotlight for this week goes to Jianna Choi! Last weekend, Jianna qualified to states in 2 events, including getting 1st place in Duo Interpretation with her sister. Not only has she been successful all year, but she’s also the captain for our interp team, leading them to an astounding 17 total final rounds this year alone. Great job Jianna!
February 22, 2020
Aayaan Sood
This week's student spotlight goes to our Vice President, Aayaan Sood! Aayaan works hard to keep our team running. From registering our teams to tracking down missing judges, he’s been one of the most essential pieces to our Speech and Debate team. Being the VP is definitely the most time-consuming leadership position on our team. Aayaan has demonstrated tremendous leadership and organizational skills, and has been worthy of this spotlight from the very beginning, Thanks Aayaan!
This week's student spotlight goes to our Vice President, Aayaan Sood! Aayaan works hard to keep our team running. From registering our teams to tracking down missing judges, he’s been one of the most essential pieces to our Speech and Debate team. Being the VP is definitely the most time-consuming leadership position on our team. Aayaan has demonstrated tremendous leadership and organizational skills, and has been worthy of this spotlight from the very beginning, Thanks Aayaan!
February 9, 2020
Chinyce Cole-Henry
This week’s student spotlight goes to Chinyce Cole-Henry! Over the season, Chinyce has been unstoppable, placing top 10 at SCU, qualified to NCFL nationals, and recently placed 3rd in Original Prose & Poetry this weekend! Not only that, but Chinyce has been an astounding captain, leading the Congress team to year round success, including making up half of all Sacramento NCFL qualifiers. While Chinyce is the Congress Captain, her contribution to the team is in no way limited to just Congress. She has offered help for speech events such as OPP, and stepped out of her way to help the team out even further. Congrats Chinyce!
This week’s student spotlight goes to Chinyce Cole-Henry! Over the season, Chinyce has been unstoppable, placing top 10 at SCU, qualified to NCFL nationals, and recently placed 3rd in Original Prose & Poetry this weekend! Not only that, but Chinyce has been an astounding captain, leading the Congress team to year round success, including making up half of all Sacramento NCFL qualifiers. While Chinyce is the Congress Captain, her contribution to the team is in no way limited to just Congress. She has offered help for speech events such as OPP, and stepped out of her way to help the team out even further. Congrats Chinyce!
February 2, 2020
Daniel Li
This weeks spotlight goes to Daniel Li! Daniel has been helping the Mira Loma Speech and Debate Team throughout this entire year. His job as treasurer has been even harder given the current pandemic with everything being online. Yet, he still found a way to make the payment system quick and easy while also keeping tabs on who paid and hasn't paid and this year the payment methods have been some of the most efficient of all time. He is very dedicated to his job of Treasurer and always responds to questions on time. Overall, Daniel Li deserves the student spotlight for this week for all his hard work!
This weeks spotlight goes to Daniel Li! Daniel has been helping the Mira Loma Speech and Debate Team throughout this entire year. His job as treasurer has been even harder given the current pandemic with everything being online. Yet, he still found a way to make the payment system quick and easy while also keeping tabs on who paid and hasn't paid and this year the payment methods have been some of the most efficient of all time. He is very dedicated to his job of Treasurer and always responds to questions on time. Overall, Daniel Li deserves the student spotlight for this week for all his hard work!
January 26, 2020
Raghava Kodavatikanti
(Written by Holden Carrillo) This week’s student spotlight is for Raghava Kodavatikanti! Last weekend, Raghava qualified for NCFL nationals in not just one, but two events. Raghava is also our secretary, who works on everything behind the scenes, from taking weekly attendance to deciding the student spotlight every week. Week after week, Raghava has shown his commitment to the team and his talent in the activity, making him a great candidate for spotlight!
(Written by Holden Carrillo) This week’s student spotlight is for Raghava Kodavatikanti! Last weekend, Raghava qualified for NCFL nationals in not just one, but two events. Raghava is also our secretary, who works on everything behind the scenes, from taking weekly attendance to deciding the student spotlight every week. Week after week, Raghava has shown his commitment to the team and his talent in the activity, making him a great candidate for spotlight!
January 19, 2020
Luke Jones
This person has been deserving a Student Spotlight. I was just waiting for the perfect moment. Luke is by far one of the best debaters at Mira Loma. At the James Logan Invitational last weekend, he was an Octofinalist, and earned a Tournament of Champions (TOC)Silver Bid! TOC is considered to be the most prestigious tournament for speech and debaters, and Luke has qualified to it! Furthermore, I would say Luke (along with his partner Holden) are the most hardworking individuals on the time. They prep every single day, create massive files, do lots of drills, engage in many practice debates, and more. This TOC bid that Luke received only last weekend was something Luke definitely deserved. Congratulations to Luke Jones himself.
This person has been deserving a Student Spotlight. I was just waiting for the perfect moment. Luke is by far one of the best debaters at Mira Loma. At the James Logan Invitational last weekend, he was an Octofinalist, and earned a Tournament of Champions (TOC)Silver Bid! TOC is considered to be the most prestigious tournament for speech and debaters, and Luke has qualified to it! Furthermore, I would say Luke (along with his partner Holden) are the most hardworking individuals on the time. They prep every single day, create massive files, do lots of drills, engage in many practice debates, and more. This TOC bid that Luke received only last weekend was something Luke definitely deserved. Congratulations to Luke Jones himself.
January 11, 2020
Chuer Yang and Neha Suri
The first Student Spotlight of 2021 goes to Chuer and Neha. January is packed with tournaments, and both these individuals started the year off strong. At the Arizona State HDSHC Invitational, one of the hardest invitationals of the year, they were Triple-Octofinalists. Multiple Mira Loma teams went to this tourney, but the only team that broke was these two. But it doesn't just end there. Both Chuer and Neha are heavily involved with the MLSD team. I see them helping freshmen out, and most importantly, paying all their Speech and Debate fees on time. Congratulations to both Neha and Khadijah, and we as Mira Loma Speech and Debate are proud to have you here with us.
The first Student Spotlight of 2021 goes to Chuer and Neha. January is packed with tournaments, and both these individuals started the year off strong. At the Arizona State HDSHC Invitational, one of the hardest invitationals of the year, they were Triple-Octofinalists. Multiple Mira Loma teams went to this tourney, but the only team that broke was these two. But it doesn't just end there. Both Chuer and Neha are heavily involved with the MLSD team. I see them helping freshmen out, and most importantly, paying all their Speech and Debate fees on time. Congratulations to both Neha and Khadijah, and we as Mira Loma Speech and Debate are proud to have you here with us.
December 7, 2020
Holden Carrillo
The final Student Spotlight of 2020! Here we go... Holden Carrillo is one of the finest debaters Mira Loma has to offer. At the most recent debate competition, Holden showed a Captain level performance by not losing a single round. He also has shown amazing growth as a student leader over the course of this year and has done a phenomenal job co-leading (with Surya Srikumar) the PR section of Speech and Debate. He has consistently helped new debaters within the PF team, portraying leadership-like qualities. He also consistently updates the website and social media platforms, displaying true team spirit. Overall, Mira Loma could not be more happy with Holden Carrillo. With Holden, we end off the 2020 Student Spotlights. Congratulations Holden.
The final Student Spotlight of 2020! Here we go... Holden Carrillo is one of the finest debaters Mira Loma has to offer. At the most recent debate competition, Holden showed a Captain level performance by not losing a single round. He also has shown amazing growth as a student leader over the course of this year and has done a phenomenal job co-leading (with Surya Srikumar) the PR section of Speech and Debate. He has consistently helped new debaters within the PF team, portraying leadership-like qualities. He also consistently updates the website and social media platforms, displaying true team spirit. Overall, Mira Loma could not be more happy with Holden Carrillo. With Holden, we end off the 2020 Student Spotlights. Congratulations Holden.
November 30, 2020
Emma Koller and Leina Alofa-Aders
For this week of Student Spotlight, our leadership has selected Emma Koller and Leina Alofa-Aders! Both individuals have been performing massively well at the tournaments they are attending in arguably one of the hardest speech categories. Despite the added difficulty of having to communicate with a partner while you aren’t even in the same room as them, these two manage to continually do well. Competing in Duo Interpretation, these two have managed to get 5th place at CVFL #4 and 6th place at SCU, competing against experienced seniors who have done speech for many years. As freshmen, these achievements are very impressive and clearly indicate a passion and commitment towards speech and debate. Furthermore, both of these individuals are heavily involved within the Interpretation Team, always answering other people's questions and being helpful. It is only fitting that they deserve to be in the Student Spotlight.
For this week of Student Spotlight, our leadership has selected Emma Koller and Leina Alofa-Aders! Both individuals have been performing massively well at the tournaments they are attending in arguably one of the hardest speech categories. Despite the added difficulty of having to communicate with a partner while you aren’t even in the same room as them, these two manage to continually do well. Competing in Duo Interpretation, these two have managed to get 5th place at CVFL #4 and 6th place at SCU, competing against experienced seniors who have done speech for many years. As freshmen, these achievements are very impressive and clearly indicate a passion and commitment towards speech and debate. Furthermore, both of these individuals are heavily involved within the Interpretation Team, always answering other people's questions and being helpful. It is only fitting that they deserve to be in the Student Spotlight.
November 16, 2020
Derek Yuan
This person has been massively overlooked in the MLSD, mainly because of the dominance of the Public Forum Team. Derek Yuan, the captain of the Policy Team, needs to be recognized. Although he is currently only leading 4 individuals in Policy Debate, he is still extremely committed towards helping them out. As Secretary, whenever I join the policy room to check how everything is going, I notice that even with 4 members, Derek is super dedicated to debate. He is always feeding the novices prep, organizing practice debates, and judging. He even was able to schedule practice debates between different schools. His commitment to debate can be seen through results of his team. We saw in the most recent debate tournament, CVFL #3, that the only Mira Loma team to place was one of his policy teams, Mira Loma BC. Derek Yuan evidently deserves this week's Student Spotlight.
This person has been massively overlooked in the MLSD, mainly because of the dominance of the Public Forum Team. Derek Yuan, the captain of the Policy Team, needs to be recognized. Although he is currently only leading 4 individuals in Policy Debate, he is still extremely committed towards helping them out. As Secretary, whenever I join the policy room to check how everything is going, I notice that even with 4 members, Derek is super dedicated to debate. He is always feeding the novices prep, organizing practice debates, and judging. He even was able to schedule practice debates between different schools. His commitment to debate can be seen through results of his team. We saw in the most recent debate tournament, CVFL #3, that the only Mira Loma team to place was one of his policy teams, Mira Loma BC. Derek Yuan evidently deserves this week's Student Spotlight.
November 9, 2020
Chris Cotrutsa
There are multiple reasons as to why Chris has been chosen for this week's Student Spotlight. For starters, Chris was one of the only individuals to place at this last weekend's debate competition, CVFL #3. But it extends beyond that. Chris has also shown impressive commitment and dedication to the MLSD Team, always researching, making cases, and more. He has also been extremely helpful towards other members of the team, providing members with assistance, debate files, memes, etc. If you ever need any files or pieces of evidence, Chris is the man. As a whole, Chris is one of the most involved members of MLSD. During zoom calls, you always hear him voice his opinions. In chats, you always see him participating in the discussion. Due to all these reasons, Chris Cotrutsa has been chosen for this week's Student Spotlight.
There are multiple reasons as to why Chris has been chosen for this week's Student Spotlight. For starters, Chris was one of the only individuals to place at this last weekend's debate competition, CVFL #3. But it extends beyond that. Chris has also shown impressive commitment and dedication to the MLSD Team, always researching, making cases, and more. He has also been extremely helpful towards other members of the team, providing members with assistance, debate files, memes, etc. If you ever need any files or pieces of evidence, Chris is the man. As a whole, Chris is one of the most involved members of MLSD. During zoom calls, you always hear him voice his opinions. In chats, you always see him participating in the discussion. Due to all these reasons, Chris Cotrutsa has been chosen for this week's Student Spotlight.
November 2, 2020
Srivishal Sudharsan, Kushal Chebiyam, Akarsh Gandagari, and Sandhu Harvey
Last weekend was the UOP (University of Pacific) Invitational. This was the first invite of the entire season. And we as a team are proud to say that these 4 FRESHMEN: Srivishal, Kushal, Akarsh, and Sandhu were all CO-CHAMPIONS in NOVICE PF! What this means is that Mira Loma closed out the Novice PF Category. We took the top 2 teams in the entire invitational. This simply goes to show that MLSD's Freshmen are starting off really strong, displaying commitment and talent for this club. Congrats to the freshmen, and we hope to see more of them performing well in the future. Maybe they'll overtake the seniors...
Last weekend was the UOP (University of Pacific) Invitational. This was the first invite of the entire season. And we as a team are proud to say that these 4 FRESHMEN: Srivishal, Kushal, Akarsh, and Sandhu were all CO-CHAMPIONS in NOVICE PF! What this means is that Mira Loma closed out the Novice PF Category. We took the top 2 teams in the entire invitational. This simply goes to show that MLSD's Freshmen are starting off really strong, displaying commitment and talent for this club. Congrats to the freshmen, and we hope to see more of them performing well in the future. Maybe they'll overtake the seniors...
October 26, 2020
Julia Mathew
At the first speech tournament of the year (CVFL #2), we had a number of people perform well (see Results section for more information). But more specifically, we had a freshman place first in their first ever high school speech tournament. Julia Mathew had gotten first place in Novice Impromptu! Congrats to Julia for this achievement. Her placing at this first speech tournament displays her dedication and commitment to this club. Hard work always pays off. We are proud to have her as a member of MLSD.
At the first speech tournament of the year (CVFL #2), we had a number of people perform well (see Results section for more information). But more specifically, we had a freshman place first in their first ever high school speech tournament. Julia Mathew had gotten first place in Novice Impromptu! Congrats to Julia for this achievement. Her placing at this first speech tournament displays her dedication and commitment to this club. Hard work always pays off. We are proud to have her as a member of MLSD.
October 19, 2020
Aditya Anantaraman and Showmen Talukder
Not long ago, the first debate tournament of the season took place (CVFL #1), and we saw an astounding performance from many competitors (see Results section for more information). But from the already outstanding results, one team stood out. And that was the team of Aditya and Showmen. As freshmen, they started off the season UNDEFEATED in Novice Public Forum. Congratulations to them. Honestly, as a team, we are not surprised at this accomplishment. We constantly saw these two individuals participating in our club, asking questions and learning everyday. Hard work and dedication is always worth it. We wish these two members of MLSD the best of luck in their future of Speech and Debate.
Not long ago, the first debate tournament of the season took place (CVFL #1), and we saw an astounding performance from many competitors (see Results section for more information). But from the already outstanding results, one team stood out. And that was the team of Aditya and Showmen. As freshmen, they started off the season UNDEFEATED in Novice Public Forum. Congratulations to them. Honestly, as a team, we are not surprised at this accomplishment. We constantly saw these two individuals participating in our club, asking questions and learning everyday. Hard work and dedication is always worth it. We wish these two members of MLSD the best of luck in their future of Speech and Debate.