About Us
Our Philosophy
We believe in developing the future generation of our community's leaders through providing speech and debate opportunities for EVERY student, which is why all of our resources, tournaments, and workshops are FREE.
Tournaments
We host speech and debate tournaments that are open to middle school students from around Oregon @ LOJ
We do not provide transportation or overnight options, but financial support can be arranged if needed.
Workshops
We provide workshops for all students, and especially for those whose schools don't have debate programs so they get the opportunity to explore speech and debate.
Clubs
We help middle schools start up speech and debate clubs. If you have any questions about this, feel free to email us!
Co-Founders and Board of Directors
Co-President - Nova Wu
Nova Wu is a senior at Lincoln High School. She started a speech and debate club in 7th grade for middle school girls in the Portland area. She believes every middle student in Oregon deserves a chance to participate in a free debate program. Nova is a writer who has earned several Scholastic Gold Keys in Writing and has received the Presidential Volunteer Service Gold Award for her contributions to OMSSDL. She is also the president of the Lincoln Science Bowl Club.
Keen on enhancing the communication skills of the next generation, Nova also runs and teaches in several OMSSDL workshops throughout the year as a coach, along with overseeing strategies for OMSSDL as its co-president.
Co-President - Breanna Guo
Breanna Guo is a senior at Lincoln High School. She did Policy and Lincoln Douglas debate during her freshman and sophomore years. She believes that debate can truly open one's eyes to the world. As co-president, Breanna helps to organize tournaments and run workshops for OMSSDL. Not only does she debate, but she enjoys learning new languages. She spent her junior year studying abroad in Switzerland and from that has gained a global perspective on issues around her. In her opinions, the ability to communicate clearly and effectively is the most important skill to have.
Tournament/Operations Director - Stanley Wang
Stanley Wang is a junior at Sunset High School. He participated in Public Forum debate for 3 years and is now involved in Oregon Model United Nations, DECA, and HOSA. Stanley is responsible for leading the organization and operation of tournaments at OMSSDL, where he has earned the Presidential Volunteer Service Gold Award for his service. He was inspired to start OMSSDL because of his belief that a lack of real-world social engagement is a problem that plagues younger generations. However, Stanley is confident that through practicing speech and debate skills, students can gain confidence to voice their opinions and become inspired to lead their communities for the better.
Outreach Director - Kyler Wang
Kyler Wang is an sophomore at Lincoln High School. He believes that speech and debate has the power to improve public speaking skills and empower students. Besides doing speech and debate, Kyler enjoys learning history, editing his school magazine, and doing math.
Operations Manager - William Guo
William Guo is a sophomore at Lincoln High School. He did parliamentary debate throughout middle school, and he now has one year of high school Lincoln Douglas debate experience. From his experience, he has learned that everyone can improve their communication skills through speech and debate, which can come in handy anywhere, anytime. Outside of speech and debate, William enjoys competition math and science bowl. He is also a member of his school's We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution team.
Officers
Fundraising - Kevin Seog
Kevin Seog is a Junior at Sunset High School. He enjoys attending various different competitions and conventions which involve speaking skills, such as DECA, HOSA, and Model United Nations. He believes speaking and debating skills will benefit students greatly in the future regarding a variety of different aspects, such as in college and job interviews. Additionally, Kevin enjoys a variety of sports and is involved in multiple activities where he teaches and tutors other students in science and math.
Outreach - David Morgan
David is a currently a Sophomore at Lake Oswego High School. He has been involved with OMSSDL for several years now, starting as a participant in the tournaments.
Outreach - Alex Aghdaei
Alex is currently a Freshman at Lake Oswego High School. He started out as a middle school student, participating in numerous OMSSDL tournaments, but quickly became more involved with the organization.
Advisors
Aletia Cochran
Mrs. Cochran is a humanities teacher and speech and debate coach at Lake Oswego Junior High School. She has been actively involved with OMSSDL since its inception, and is an integral part in organizing the numerous state-wide tournaments.
Brent Hamilton
Mr. Hamilton is a lawyer at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. He has been a great contributor to OMSSDL, assisting in the planning of workshops as well as providing numerous donations through the years.