Forensics was the most important activity I participated in during high school and college. It provided the intellectual foundations for my professional life as a college professor and scholar. Forensics taught me how to conduct scholarly research, use evidence to support claims, engage in reasoned argument, see multiple sides to complex issues, pay attention to nuance in language, and to organize my thoughts so they are clear, coherent, and persuasive. I draw on my background in forensics every day—as a teacher, as a department chair, and as a scholar.