Charlie Gu

Ascend California - Congressional Debate Specialty Instructor

Currently a student at UC Berkeley, Charlie previously competed in Congressional Debate at Monte Vista High School. He has ample experience in Congressional Debate, having started debating on the national circuit in 7th grade. Notably, Charlie won the Senate Leadership Bowl Champion, placed sixth in the Senate, championed the Stanford University and UC Berkeley Invitationals, and finaled at the Tournament of Champions. He also placed third at the California State Tournament, fourth at the Harvard Round Robin (where he was the first debater from his school ever invited to compete), and top-six at the Martin Luther King Jr. Invitational three times, the Yale University Debate Invitational, and the Glenbrooks Invitational. Charlie thinks that the divide over whether Congress is a speech or debate event is goofy, and his philosophy is that good Congress is a combination of both good speaking and good debating; neither can suffice without the other. Therefore, his coaching emphasizes a nuanced, thorough understanding of arguments and their implications on the status quo, as well as the development of a speaking style tailored to each student. His mission as a coach is not just to make students better presenters and debaters, but also to expand their view of Congress as more than just speech or debate, rather a discussion of American values, political climate, persona, and audience. When he’s not coaching at Ascend, Charlie can be found walking his dog Snuffles, playing Word Hunt on GamePigeon (he’s undefeated), or watching business case studies on YouTube. He’s hyped to be coaching at Ascend again this summer!