Irene Zhao debated for four years at Sidwell Friends School in Washington D.C., where she competed both on the local and national circuits. Across her career, she amassed 9 career bids, 4 gold and 5 silver, becoming one of the first debaters from her school to qualify to the Tournament of Champions, where she cleared all three years she attended. Notably, Irene also championed Georgetown her senior year. Aside from competing, she has taught at multiple summer debate camps, written monthly argument breakdowns for Beyond Resolved, and served as a captain of the Sidwell debate team, working closely with novices. Though she debated all sorts of arguments as a debater, she specializes in teaching narrative debate, with emphasis on back-half strategy, weighing, and case-writing. Irene is currently a rising freshman at Brown University, and she is looking forward to teaching at NSD!