Helen Jones
Helen is a senior majoring in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Legal Studies. She’s an All-Regional attorney going into her fourth year of mock trial with ITT and seventh overall, and one of her best memories has been winning Regionals as Captain of Team Orange in ‘23. As President, Helen is responsible for the entire team’s structure and development. When competing, she loves to work with and portray expert witnesses. Outside of mock trial, she’s an avid crochet-er. She is one of our invitational captains this fall, and she can’t wait to get started with this season and meet our new members!
Brendan Burke
As VPI, Brendan is our AMTA representative and manages the team’s tournament schedule and travel. As a junior double majoring in English and Political Science (with a minor in Legal Studies), this will be Brendan’s third year on the team, and first time captaining one of our invitational teams. Last season he racked up seven individual awards, and became an All-Regional and All-National attorney. Known to appreciate crafting creative defense theories, Brendan enjoyed captaining Team Orange last year, and the memories they made the night after winning Crimson Classic. He’s excited to be back with some of his closest friends and get into this season.
Anna Fleck
Anna is a junior majoring in Political Science and Communications, with a minor in Legal Studies. As VPE, she is in charge of tryouts, social media and outreach, and team fundraising. Anna has been competing in mock trial since high school, so although this is her third year with ITT, she has six years of experience. She won four individual awards last year and became an All-National witness, giving her a total of three witness and three attorney awards, making her a double threat. Anna loves expert witnesses, and one of her favorite memories is how ITT always ends up at a Culver’s on tournament weekends. She’s excited to attend new tournaments and meet our new members this season!
Aarushi Raizada
Aarushi is a senior in her third year of mock trial, majoring in Accountancy and Information Systems. As Treasurer, she manages the team's finances. Her favorite aspect of mock trial is competing with the team, and one of her favorite memories was staying up to outrun a snowstorm after winning first place at Crimson Classic. She’s a two-time best witness award winner, and three-time best attorney. When she isn’t participating in mock trial, Aarushi is an avid reader, plays board games, and is always trying new things.
Marcie Baron
Marcie is our Tournament Director for the 2024-25 season, which means she is responsible for coordinating our fall invitational tournament, the 17th Annual Illini Invite! Marcie is a sophomore majoring in History with a minor in Legal Studies, and this is her second year with the team. Her favorite mock trial memory so far has been winning the Crimson Classic tournament in Alabama, and her favorite part about mock trial is growing her knowledge of trial advocacy while surrounded by a welcoming community.
Ryder Becker
As a sophomore majoring in Political Science, this is Ryder’s second year with ITT. So far, his favorite memory has been the friendships he formed in his first season on Team Blue, during which time he received two witness awards. This year, in his position as Deputy Tournament Director, he assists Marcie Baron with coordinating the 17th Annual Illini Invite. Ryder always makes sure everyone knows his name is spelled with a Y, and will probably continue to introduce himself as “Ryder with a ‘y’ Becker” this year. He’s excited to be back with the people and the competition this season, and ready to get to work!
Loralei Kuchefski
Loralei is a sophomore in her second year of ITT mock trial and fifth overall, studying English and Political Science with a minor in Spanish. As Secretary, she organizes and disperses information and manages case materials. Some of her best memories have been the friendships she formed in her first year and winning at Vanderbilt with Team Blue. Loralei enjoys working with/portraying expert witnesses, and one of her favorite aspects of mock trial is how the challenging case materials make competitions so rewarding. She has also been involved with theatre for over a decade, and she met her current roommate on the team last year!
Emma Troy
Emma is one of our six invitational captains this year, and is a senior in her fourth year with ITT. She's majoring in Political Science, with minors in Legal Studies, Spanish, and Public Relations. Emma is a true double threat: she has 3 best attorney and 3 best witness awards, and is an All-Regional attorney and All-National witness. Her favorite part of mock trial is crafting and performing compelling case theories. Though she is particularly fond of Opening Statements, she enjoys any opportunity to sharpen her trial advocacy skills. Her favorite memory is the A Team’s first place finish at Vanderbilt, where not only did our program win the tournament, but we brought back 4 individual awards as well.
Alisha Thomas
Alisha is a member of our Social Committee, which means she’s responsible for developing ITT’s social calendar and designing team merchandise. She’s also one of our invitational captains this fall, and she’s excited to teach our new members! Alisha is an English and Political Science double-major with a Legal Studies minor, and as a senior, this is her fourth year on the team. Her favorite aspect of mock trial is how it teaches you to embrace challenges and be adaptable. One of the most rewarding moments for her has been finishing Crimson Classic with a perfect record. Alisha is one of our many multi-talented members; she’s also on a dance team here at UIUC!
Avah Kizilbash
Avah is another member of our Social Committee, responsible for planning events for ITT bonding. She’s a sophomore in her second year of mock trial, majoring in Information Systems and Data Science, with a minor in Communications. As an adrenaline junkie, she most enjoys giving closing arguments for the defense, but she also loves being a character witness since it means she gets to go up there and “be the court jester.” She likes car rides to tournaments and coming up with absurd case theories, and she’s excited to watch and do some great mock trial this season. She’s also another of our more musical members, and has been playing guitar for 9 years!
Saniya Dawkins
Saniya, a senior majoring in Political Science with minors in Legal Studies and Theatre, is going into her third year of mock trial. She is a two-time All-Regional witness with four individual awards under her belt, but this season she’s excited to practice her attorney skills. Saniya loves thinking on her feet during an exhilarating cross examination, and one of her core mock trial memories is when a judge encouraged her and other competitors to “save the republic”, which then became her team’s inside joke/chant. As a member of the social committee, Saniya helps coordinate team gatherings. She’s also 11% Scottish!
Lilly Pickerill
Lilly is a junior majoring in Political Science, with a minor in Journalism. Originally from Idaho, this is Lilly’s third year competing with ITT, but with family involved in mock trial, she has already been working with AMTA for eight years. This year, she’s excited about our competitive tournament schedule and gaining experience as one of our invitational captains. One of her favorite memories with ITT has been earning a witness award last season, and watching her teammates win individual awards as well. She enjoys how mock trial allows her to be around people with similar interests as her, while also giving trial experience and helping to develop courtroom presence.
Captains
Emma Troy and Anna Fleck
Captains
Helen Jones and Alisha Thomas
Captains
Brendan Burke and Lilly Pickerill
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