UIL Speech Judges

Judging qualifications:
I am a second-year JD candidate at the University of Texas School of Law. I compete on UT's interscholastic moot court team, and following graduation, I intend to work as a civil rights litigator. I grew up in a working-class family without exposure to the legal field, and I owe much of my path to law school to my experience as a collegiate debater. I came to college without any debate experience, and the team took a risk on me. That risk ultimately paid off due to my immediate success. In my first year, I won NCCFI nationals in CX debate and was the first-place speaker. Additionally, I was the first runner-up in LD at PKD nationals. I won various other speech awards throughout my first year. I competed again in my sophomore year but did not attend nationals because I studied abroad in Australia. When I returned to my university, I primarily focused on moot court. My short career in debate had a massive impact on me. I learned from some incredible coaches and teammates, many of whom are full-time debate coaches now. I judged local high school competitions throughout college as well. In the time between my undergrad and law school, I taught the LSAT. That experience cultivated my skills as an instructor. I tailor my instruction and feedback to each student and am eager to do the same as a judge.