Harshil Shah is an ambitious eighth grader from Hopkins Middle School. He currently resides in Fremont, California, although he was born in the state of Washington. He has been participating in Public Forum debate since November 2023, competing in almost ten tournaments. He qualified for the IOF after placing second and first in two USAFO tournaments and placing in the USAFO championship. He has done extemporaneous speech and is working on an Original Oratory too. He believes in the values of hard work, dedication, and determination, but at the same time, he believes in having fun along the way. He has been exploring his love for tennis for over four years and looks forward to biking in the summer. He’s passionate about reading and enjoys writing for the school newspaper as a core member. He wants to give back to the community, so he spends weekends volunteering for his temple by cooking and serving food, helping homeless shelters, supporting education, and helping organizing and run massive events, earning a gold award from the U.S. president. His other hobbies include programming and math. The realms of business, finance especially partially due to his stock market investments, and STEM are worlds that spark his interest.