Sharmada Palakurthi

Ascend Florida - Congressional Debate Junior Instructor

Sharmada Palakurthi is a senior at WB Ray High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. She has
competed in congressional debate for all 4 years of high school. As President of her school's
debate team, Sharmada helps coach her teammates so that they can find their confidence and
unique styles as speakers. As a debater, Sharmada has placed 3rd at UT Austin Longhorn
Classic, and semi-finaled tournaments such as the Harvard Invitational, Glenbrooks, the
Tournament of Champions, and NSDA Nationals.

As a 3x Ascend alumnus, Sharmada has used the strategies taught at Ascend throughout her
career. She believes that effective argumentation is the most important aspect of congress, and the best debaters can adapt their arguments to any round they're in. She hopes to help students generate speeches that feel most true to them.

Outside of debate, Sharmada enjoys hanging out with friends, traveling, and finding the best live music. She's super excited to be joining Team Ascend this year!