Oceana Zhu

Ascend Academy - Congressional Debate Coach

Oceana is an incoming freshman at The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania and a recent graduate of The Bronx High School of Science. She has competed in Congress for 4 years, accumulating 9 TOC Bids in total and ranking 5th in NY. Oceana has placed 3rd at Durham, 4th at Villiger, and 4th at Dowling Catholic. She also attended the Durham Round Robin, where she placed 4th. She was a finalist at Florida Blue Key and advanced to outrounds at Sunvite, Princeton, Harvard, Barkley Forum (2X), and TOC (2X).

As a part of Congress Leadership at Bronx Science, Oceana coached novice and varsity debaters. Oceana believes that Congress is a combination of argumentation, presentation, and adaptation. As a coach, Oceana strives to help students showcase their strengths and improve their weaknesses in these three areas, tailoring her coaching to be anything from structuring refutation, to curating a personal style and speaking extemporaneously. Outside of debate, Oceana enjoys playing New York Times games (her Mini crossword record is 9 seconds!), discovering coffee shops in NYC, horseback riding, and baking with her friends (a.k.a. being on aux while her friends bake and eating the desserts after). She’s excited to work with everyone at Ascend Academy!