Classic
Debate Camp
July 11-19, 2026 New Location: Oberlin College
Abraham Paik
Instructor - Public Forum
Abraham Paik competed in PF for University School in Ohio for 4 years. He bid out to the Ohio state tournament 3 times and won 2nd place his senior year. On the national circuit, he amassed 12 Gold TOC bids and broke twice at the Tournament of Champions. At the 2019 NSDA national tournament, Abraham and his partner were the only team to give the national champions a loss in the elim rounds. As a coach, Abraham worked with 4 generations of CDC PF debaters from 2021 to 2024, before taking a year off to hike the Appalachian Trail in 2025. He coached the 2023 Missouri State Champions in PF, and his debaters made it to the top 21 PF teams at NSDA Nationals in both 2024 and 2025. Abraham is a graduate of Williams College. In addition to debate and long hikes, he loves music and plays his guitar at local open mikes every chance he gets.
Bohan Pan
Instructor - Public Forum
Bohan Pan is a debater from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis. In her sophomore year, she won the Missouri State Championship in Public Forum; in her junior year, she was the state runner-up in United State extemporaneous speaking; and in her senior year she was one of the six finalists for the NSDA Student of the Year. Bohan qualified for the NSDA national tournament two times in Public Forum, and she reached the octafinals at the NCFL Grand Nationals, earning an auto-qualification to the TOC. Bohan attended CDC twice as a camper and is excited to return as a PF instructor. In the fall, she will be attending Northwestern University on the pre-law track. Beyond competition, Bohan enjoys holding weekly debate classes for younger students from across the St. Louis area. She also likes to play piano around her community and is a devoted cat lover.
Matthew Walton
Instructor - Public Forum
Matthew Walton competed for Oakwood High School, debating for all 4 years primarily in Public Forum. He qualified to the Ohio State Tournament in Public Forum three times, advancing to octafinals his junior year and quarterfinals his senior year. Matthew qualified for the NSDA national tournament in Public Forum two times. Matthew served as the Public Forum debate captain at Oakwood for the past two years. Other than debate, Matthew enjoys running, playing piano, playing board games and watching his favorite show Survivor. He is planning to attend the Ohio State University this fall to study materials engineering. Matthew attended CDC as a camper in 2024 and is excited to join the CDC staff in 2025.
Avery Johnson
Instructor - Public Forum
Avery Johnson will be graduating from Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, this spring. She has been on her school’s speech and debate team for all four years, serving as the president of the team her senior year. Avery competed in Lincoln-Douglas, International Extemp, and Public Forum. She qualified for the NCFL national tournament in LD two times. In International Extemp, she also qualified to both the Missouri state tournament and the NSDA national tournament during her junior and senior years. At states, Avery placed 5th in IX twice. At nationals, she won 3rd place in Extemp Debate. Outside of debate, Avery was an extra in two movies and has an IMDb profile, she aspires to travel to every country in the world, and her favorite food is hot dogs. After two years as a camper, Avery is incredibly excited to be returning to CDC for a third year as an instructor in the PF division. She cannot wait to meet debaters and assist them with their skill improvement and personal growth:).
Luke Wagner
Instructor - Public Forum
Luke Wagner did Public Forum debate for four years. He competed for Perry High School and was a four-time state qualifier. In his junior year, Luke and his partner Brooke were the state champions. In his senior year, they finished in 2nd place at states. Luke qualified to the NSDA national tournament two times. Luke was the Public Forum captain for Perry his senior year, but he has also competed in every NSDA debate category as well as extemporaneous speaking. Outside of debate, Luke enjoys playing guitar, piano, and drums; he composes his own original songs; and he performs in gigs across Ohio with his band. In 2023, Luke performed a guitar solo at the first ever CDC Coffee House/Talent Show. He believes in debating like a story-teller and is excited to promote narrative-based strategies this summer at CDC!
Colin Hsieh
Instructor - Public Forum
Colin Hsieh competed for University School (Ohio) for four years, primarily in Public Forum and was PF captain his senior year. He also occasionally competed in Lincoln-Douglas and Impromptu Speaking. On the national circuit, he earned 5 bids, qualifying to the Tournament of Champions twice. He reached late elim rounds at the UK Season Opener, Princeton, and UPenn. Locally, Colin qualified to the Ohio state tournament four times, reaching the semifinals at states his senior year, and he qualified to the NSDA national tournament twice. Aside from debate, Colin enjoys playing soccer, practicing the cello, and discovering new cuisines. Colin is attending Brown University where he is studying International and Public Affairs. After attending CDC as a camper four times, he became a PF instructor in 2024.