04/23/2026
Congratulations North Allegheny Senior High School!
Six members of the North Allegheny Speech and Debate team won the International Public Policy Forum World Finals in New York City this past weekend. The team of Sanjeev Arora, Aayushi Vardhan, Eric Peng, Samuel Xiao, Casey Yang, and Kaartic Muralidharan emerged victorious out of a field of 332 teams from more than 30 countries.
The IPPF is run by the Brewer Foundation and New York University and is the only high school debate competition that gives students from around the world the opportunity to engage in written and oral debates on issues of public policy. After their qualifying essay on the topic "Resolved: The Group of 20 Nations should levy a global education tax equal to 1% of each member country's gross domestic product to establish a dedicated international organization that supports the provision of universal, free, quality primary and secondary education" was selected for the Top 64 last fall, the team spent the winter volleying essays back and forth until they won the Sweet Sixteen and qualified for an all-expenses-paid trip to New York to compete in the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year. No previous NA team had ever made it out of quarterfinals, but the debating team of Sanjeev, Eric, and Aayushi won their quarterfinal and semifinal on 3-0 decisions before defeating New Jersey's Millburn High School in a final round.
Sanjeev Arora was recognized as the outstanding final round debater, winning the John E. Sexton Award and a $1,000 scholarship. As World Champions, the team won a $10,000 scholarship to be split between their members and the NA Speech & Debate program. With five juniors and one senior, the team is hopeful they can make another run at the World Finals in their senior year! The team is coached by Ingomar Middle School building substitute Dominic Moore.
