Bishishta Acharya
Education:
Honors Diploma, Upper Arlington High School
B.S. & B.A. Stanford University ‘29 (expected): Data Science and Public Policy
Experience
Competitive Background
Events: Lincoln Douglas Debate, Congressional Debate
Academic & Debate Highlights
NSDA top 15 in Lincoln Douglas Debate 2025 - set high school record, only qualifier from my high school in 2025 & first in five years
Ohio4Equity (an Ohio Speech and Debate equity organization) Executive Board
Western Ohio Conference Champion in Lincoln Douglas Debate 2025, Top 5 in 2024
United States Senate Youth Delegate 2025 - one of two students chosen by Dept. of Education from each state to receive 10K for knowledge and interest in policy
Top 15 @ Ohio State Championship in Lincoln Douglas Debate 2024, Semifinalist in Congressional Debate 2023
Co-Author on Research paper on representation of women and castes in Nepalese politics & research was presented at an international conference in Sweden
Intern @ Ohio House of Representatives
Mock Trial Best Witness and Regional Qualifier
Relevant Experience
Team Captain @ Upper Arlington High School 2023-25; created research files and block files to share, organized and judged practice rounds, and organized drills & brainstorms. Additionally taught flowing, rebuttal strategy, and case writing. I come from a very small program, so for a while I was more of a coach/advisor rather than a competitor myself.
Teaching Assistant @ Asian American Community Services Summer Education Program (not debate-focused)
I implemented a public speaking course at a summer camp for low-income students. This was for about 20 students in grades 4-8, and it was an hour long per week for 6 weeks. We focused on organization, vocal projection, and building speaking confidence. It was pretty low-commitment, so I'm not exactly sure if it's the type of detail-oriented instruction this organization needs for enrichment classes, but I just thought I should share.
About Me
Bishishta competed in Lincoln-Douglas Debate for 3 years, and plans on continuing with collegiate debate at Stanford University. She was Top 15 in Lincoln-Douglas Debate at the NSDA National Tournament, led her circuit as the Western Ohio Conference Champion, and was the only national qualifier from her high school in the past five years. As a competitor from a small program, she's learned how to build success independently and helped others do the same. She focuses on building strategic, adaptable debaters, who not only grow individually, but bring those skills back to strengthen their school teams.