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Clarissa Ding

Non-Interp Captain

This past year, Daniel competed in Humorous Interpretation and made it to the national level in all three national circuits that TJ participates in. He also placed at VHSL States. He is currently writing an interp curriculum to help novices craft their piece and have it ready for their first tournament. Daniel hopes to help all interpers strengthen their skills and looks forward to welcoming many novices onto the speech team! His DMs are always open to give feedback on pieces 🙂

TJ Speech is coached and sponsored by Marie Bakke. Ms. Bakke has coached Speech and Congressional Debate at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology since 2011. She has taken students to local tournaments, NCFL Grand Nationals, NSDA Nationals, and to invitational tournaments including Harvard, U-Penn, Columbia University, Wake Forest, George Mason Patriot Games, Emory University, and more. Ms. Bakke is an NSDA Diamond Coach, an active member of the National Speech and Debate Association, and president of the Northern Virginia Forensics League (NoVAFL). Her philosophy of coaching speech is that everyone can participate in speech, with a focus on the concept that excellence is the goal, winning the bonus. She is committed to making speech and debate a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive activity.