A 2008 graduate of PHC, Peter Kamakawiwoole and his partner, Sarah Wilson, won Patrick Henry College’s first Moot Court national championship in 2005. He went on to study law at Saint Louis University School of Law, before joining the Home School Legal Defense Association in 2011. As HSLDA's Director of Litigation, Peter has represented homeschooling families before state and federal tribunals across the nation. As the head coach of PHC's moot court program, Peter teaches legal reasoning and writing, oversees the college's unique and collaborative training sessions, and assists our varsity teams as they prepare for regional and national competition. He is incredibly grateful for an opportunity to give back to a program that was so formative to both his college and professional life.
Logan Spena graduated from Patrick Henry College in 2012. As a student, he captained PHC's moot court and mock trial teams, qualifying for Nationals in moot court all four years and earning 3rd place at Nationals his senior year. Logan graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2016 and spent the next two years in state government, serving as deputy policy director in the Missouri governor's office. He currently works for Alliance Defending Freedom in Lansdowne, VA, where he focuses on constitutional litigation.
Cole Reynolds is a recent graduate of Patrick Henry College, receiving his degree in Government with a track in American Politics and Policy as a part of the class of 2022. While at PHC, Cole competed on the varsity moot court team his sophomore and junior years, earning a bid to nationals his sophomore year and a 3rd place finish in the national brief writing contest on the respondent side. As a volunteer Moot Court Coach, Cole hopes he can give back to the Moot Court program as much as he received as a competitor. Cole currently works for the House Judiciary Committee as a Professional Staff Member. His work for the Committee focuses on issues relating to free speech and government censorship.
Isaac graduated from Patrick Henry College in May of 2023 with a degree in American Politics & Policy. In high school, he developed a passion for public speaking while competing in NCFCA, winning the 2017 and 2018 Team Policy Debate National Championships and the 2019 Best Advocate title in moot court. In college, Isaac spent most of his free time competing in moot court and mock trial. While he enjoyed mock trial, captaining the first-ever PHC Mock Trial B team to qualify for the national championship, his first love has always been moot court. During his four years at PHC, Isaac won two AMCA Moot Court Regional Championships, placed 3rd in the 2022 national brief writing championship, and won the 2023 AMCA Moot Court National Championship in Oral Advocacy with partner Hope Rawlson with the best full-season ballot record in AMCA history, 37-1-1. He is thrilled to join the PHC Moot Court coaching staff and cannot wait to see how the Lord uses PHC’s talented students to bring glory to His name.
Elizabeth Ertle graduated magna cum laude from Patrick Henry College in 2015. Elizabeth went on to earn her J.D., with Honors, from the University of Chicago Law School in 2018. While there, she was a semifinalist in the Hinton Moot Court competition and subsequently served as co-chair of the Hinton competition. Elizabeth was also the Executive Articles Editor for the University of Chicago Legal Forum. At PHC, she participated in mock trial all four years, captaining a team and competing on the team making the school's first appearance at the AMTA National Championship Tournament. Elizabeth also competed in moot court, advancing to elimination rounds all three years at the AMCA National Championship. Elizabeth is excited for the opportunity to give back to the PHC Forensics Program by serving as a volunteer mock trial coach. She currently works as an Associate at Sidley Austin LLP in Washington, D.C.
Luke Argue graduated from PHC in 2023. During his time at PHC, Luke competed in varsity moot court and mock trial for four years. As both an attorney and a character witness, he had the honor of captaining a mock trial team to nationals twice, earning back-to-back honorable mentions. Competing with his mock trial team was one of the most meaningful and fulfilling experiences Luke had while at PHC. By serving as a coach, he hopes to create a similar experience for his team.
James Elliott graduated from PHC in 2024, receiving the Tim LaHaye leadership award. While at PHC, he competed on the varsity moot court team for four years and varsity mock trial team for two. In moot court, he qualified for nationals each year and placed ninth at nationals in his senior year. In mock trial, he received multiple awards as both an attorney and a witness. James is now working in security at General Dynamics. James is very grateful for his coaches at PHC, who poured into him tirelessly and exemplified how to excel at forensics and, more importantly, how to grow as a child of God. He seeks to emulate that dedication in this coaching opportunity.
Chris Baldacci is an incoming litigation associate at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C. He graduated summa cum laude from Patrick Henry College in 2019, where he was an All-American AMTA competitor, captain of a national top-five mock trial team, and won two national moot court titles (along with a top orator award). He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif and served on the managing board of the Virginia Law Review. He also clerked on the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and D.C. Circuits.
Steven graduated in 2016 from Patrick Henry College with a double major in Government and Economics & Business Analytics. He originally became involved in Mock Trial in high school, where he competed for four years. At PHC, Steven competed on several of the school’s top mock trial teams for three years. Steven began coaching Mock Trial at the high school level in 2021 and coached his team to victory in the Virginia state championship. Steven now works in the financial sector as a Senior Research and Investment Operations Associate with Cassaday & Company. Forensics has been one of the most influential factors in his life and he is glad for the opportunity to give back as a volunteer coach with the PHC Forensics Program.
Carter Langhofer graduated from PHC in May 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Analytics. Carter competed in Mock Trial during all 4 years of his time at PHC, serving as captain of the Cobalt team his senior year. He attended nationals twice as a character witness and played an attorney role during his senior year. Mock Trial helped Carter develop his speaking and teamwork abilities, and he hopes to guide younger students to build those same skills. He currently serves as a policy analyst at the Reason Foundation and spends his free time studying for the LSAT, as he plans to attend law school in 2025.
Noah graduated from Patrick Henry College in 2023 and treasured each year of his education there. He is passionate about public speaking and competed in a variety of PHC debate formats, including on the PHC Moot Court varsity team for four years where he qualified for nationals three times and placed 3rd in speaker awards at the 2023 Moot Court nationals. His passion for public speaking stems from six years in STOA speech and debate where he competed in two debate formats and over a dozen speech formats, experiencing success in both debate and speech. He finished as the STOA national Apologetics speaking champion in 2019, the runner up STOA Lincoln Douglas Debate national champion in 2018, and 2nd overall in the nation in 2019 for combined speech and debate points. He now serves as a high school Apologetics coach. After seeing God use speech and debate to change his own life, Noah is thrilled to also serve as a PHC Head Debate coach to see how God works in the upcoming season, awakens the hearts of students involved, and furthers His kingdom.
Tyler graduated from Patrick Henry College in 2022 with a degree in Economics and Business Analytics and now works at Capital One as a Senior Business Analyst. He loved his four years at PHC and, without a doubt, his time competing in forensics and traveling with the team to tournaments was a major highlight. Tyler qualified to the Moot Court national tournament each year and placed 9th in 2020 and 2021. In 2021, he placed 3rd at the Lafayette Debates championship. He’s excited to support the Debate program and see what God does through the team over the coming year!
Ryan McDonald is a PHC alumnus, graduating cum laude in 2016. He was an active participant in collegiate Moot Court and Mock Trial, where he repeatedly represented each branch of PHC forensics at the national level. Ryan received his J.D. from the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in 2019. While there, he was an active member of the Law Review, twice represented the school at the American Bar Association’s National Appellate Advocacy Competition, and won both of the school’s intra-school appellate advocacy tournaments. Ryan is now a licensed attorney in the Commonwealth of Virginia and serves as a Legal Advisor to the Enforcement Bureau Chief in the Federal Communications Commission.
Dr. Guliuzza "Dr. G" left an indelible legacy with the Patrick Henry College community. During his time at the College, he co-coached ten American Moot Court Association national championship teams (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019). He was the immediate past President of the American Mock Trial Association, and was the past President of the American Moot Court Association. Dr. G also coached nineteen mock trial teams into national competition. He was a former President of the Western Association of Pre-Law Advisors and the Pre-Law Advisors’ National Council. His pre-law students have earned admission, typically with scholarship or other financial support, at dozens of top tier law schools including Harvard, Columbia, and Yale. Dr. G passed away in his sleep on February 26th, 2019. In the words of PHC President Jack Haye, "At this moment, he is in the presence of the LORD and probably reflecting on his Sunday’s Comin’ sermon. Sunday did come for 'Dr. G.' Hopes beyond hopes fulfilled. A life fully lived for God’s Glory." Click here to visit his legacy page.
