THE STUDY OF
Ian Gao
philosophy · politics · policy
A senior at Leland High School spending his last year of high school the way he's spent the last three: on a debate flow, in a research seminar, and knocking on doors for candidates he believes in.
photo pending
WHO I AM
I spend most of my time arguing — on a debate flow, in research papers, and for candidates I think deserve to win. Leland Debate, research at Cambridge and the UCs, and two California campaigns are three different rooms where I've learned to make a case and then take it apart myself.
On a debate flow I learned to hold a position and doubt it in the same breath — the strongest case is the one that's already survived its best objection. That habit carried over into research: a 15,000-word paper on post-Dayton Bosnia, a data analysis of SFPD use-of-force incidents, and right now a project on what love actually obligates us to.
Off the flow, that same instinct shows up differently — phone banking for Matt Mahan and Evan Low, co-founding a courtwatching nonprofit with the San Jose Public Defender's Office, coaching debate for students in Cambodia and rural Pennsylvania, and getting cast as Algernon this spring. This page is the short version.
ACTIVE
RIGHT NOW
…plus whatever round I'm prepping for this week.
Debate
LD · POLICY · DUO · EXTEMPIN THE NATION, LD (NSDA 2026)
LELAND SPEECH & DEBATE · CAPTAIN, LD 2025–26
| Tournament | Result | Year |
|---|---|---|
| NSDA Nationals, LD | 19th in the Nation | 2026 |
| CA State Championships | Top 30 | 2026 |
| Philhistorian Invitational, Open LD | Champion | 2024 |
| NSDA Last Chance Qualifier, Open LD | First Seed, Undefeated | 2025 |
| Stephen Stewart Invitational, Open LD | Quarterfinals | 2025 |
Leads a nationally competitive team of 300 students, ranked 3rd in the nation — managing tournament registration, writing lesson plans, mentoring novice debaters, and running bimonthly topic research on issues like plea bargaining, the living wage, wealth taxes, and artificial general intelligence.
Research
HISTORY · POLICY · PHILOSOPHYCCIR
Cambridge Center of International Research
Mentored by Oxford Professor Othon Anastasakis
Authored a 15,000-word original research paper, "Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Limits of International State-Building: How Stable Is the Post-Dayton Order?" Presented twice at CCIR Research Symposiums.
Track 11: Policy Puzzle · Jun–Jul 2025
UC Santa Barbara — Summer Research Academies
Mentored by PhD candidate Travis Candeias
Co-authored "A Model Policing Agency": Analyzing the Impact of the Collaborative Reform Initiative on Use of Force in San Francisco — used R to analyze SFPD use-of-force data from 2018–2023.
PHI-03 · Jun 2026–present
UC Santa Cruz — Science Internship Program
Mentored by philosophy PhD candidate Terri Preszle
"What is Love? — A Philosophical Inquiry." Close reading and annotation of academic literature, contributing to the mentor’s doctoral thesis.
Campaigning
CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGNSMatt Mahan for Governor of California
Feb 2026 – Jun 2026Campaign Intern & Phonebank Lead
Led weekly phone banking sessions with 20+ volunteers, training them to reach tens of thousands of voters. Helped run town halls and rallies across the Bay Area, and organized canvassing and literature drops across thousands of homes.
Evan Low for Congress
Sep 2024 – Nov 2024Campaign Intern
Phone banking, canvassing and literature drops (~200 houses door-to-door), and weekly team meetings on campaign strategy and event planning.
On Stage
LELAND THEATREphoto pending
photo pending
Six productions with Leland Theatre since 2023 — The Laramie Project, Mean Girls, The Importance of Being Earnest (lead, Algernon), Mamma Mia, Chicago, and Clue.
- The Laramie Project
- Mean Girls
- The Importance of Being Earnest
- Mamma Mia
- Chicago
- Clue
off the record — also a Leland Track long-jumper, fluent enough in Spanish to have a gold medal to prove it, and the reason Justice For All's group chat never sleeps.