Along with a successful season and a 25-year reunion, the Doane forensics team got another win recently. An endowed fund was created for the team by alum Dr. Caitie Leibman and raised $107,855 with 68 donors.
“It’s invested and every year spits out an annual spend of money that will support the team into the future,” assistant director of forensics Jennifer Torres said. “Which, for any program, to have any support, any sort of endowment, it helps kind of cement the program’s future.”
The future for this team looks bright despite some of the hurdles they’ve overcome. Composed entirely of first- and second-year forensic members, the team had eight to ten students throughout the year, along with the four who presented at the April 25 Forensics Showcase. These four refer to themselves as the “core four” and consist of sophomores Jackson Finner, Theo Jones and Jordynn Jerby and freshman Lillian Korbel.
“It was a great season competitively,” communication professor and director of forensics Nathaniel Wilson said. “I think even more exciting was how much of a learning experience it was.” Jerby and Finner took on leadership roles and mentor duties since they have seniority on the team. “Because they started to grow into that role so well, we found ourselves forgetting that they are only in their second year in the program,” Wilson said.
Forensics consists of 11 different events, although students can compete in up to six. Torres and Wilson start by talking with students about their passions and topics they find interesting, then finding what events they could fit with them. Wilson said many people misinterpret forensics when it’s really about “nerding out on topics, doing a bunch of research, and getting to talk through really cool ideas.” The directors also encourage students to explore different events, like Jerby, who tried After-Dinner Speaking this year.
“At our state tournament in February, at warmups, we had one of our alumni there with us, and it was the first time that all of a sudden it felt like we became a team,” Wilson said. “Like they’ve worked together and been around each other, but something that weekend just gelled and from that point onward, there’s a really clear team’s identity, and it was awesome to watch.”
Torres also reflected on her favorite memories from this season and explained “one good thing,” a kind of game played at the end of every tournament where each team member picks one good thing that stood out to them. It usually only lasts for 15-20 minutes, but this one went on for over an hour after nationals.
“Everyone started to chime in on all the good things they had held back because they didn’t want to take too long during their one good thing,” Torres said. “I was suddenly awake and alive and super excited to hear all these things the students were excited about.”
The team requires no prior experience with speech. Those interested in joining should contact Nathaniel Wilson, nathaniel.wilson@doane.edu, or Jennifer Torres, jennifer.torres@doane.edu. Additionally, the directors encourage students to reach out to current team members to learn more.
