MAY 4, 2012
COLLEGE HEIGHTS HERALD
Mario Nquyen
9
WKU Forensics ‘They cleaned me up and outfitted me with the tools I needed to thrive in this world’
W
hen all my friends went off to Harvard, Columbia and Yale — I was being shipped off to Kentucky. Little did I know I would be receiving just as much out of my education experience as they did. My time on the WKU Forensics Team was both academically rigorous and personally challenging —but I wouldn’t change a bit of it. No other organization offers such a focus on personal development and growth like WKU Forensics. Unlike most college kids, I spent my weekends in a suit and tie at 5 a.m. and spent my nights researching and writing for fun. As the first person to graduate high school in my family, I didn’t come from affluent or well-educated people, but Forensics didn’t care about that. They cleaned me up and outfitted me with the tools I needed to thrive in this world, but most importantly, they showed Dominique Adams Whitney Addington Blake Ainsworth Hadi Alyami Danilo Amoretty Derek Anderson Katy Anderson Jared Andreoli Courtney Arnold Jason Aubrey Katelyn Austin Matthew Baalke Jacob Baldwin Ryan Beard Ashley Bell Charles Biggs Blake Blackburn William Blanford Paul Blattner James Bohnenblust Thomas Bolen Brandon Boone Timothy Brant Crystal Britt Matthew Broerman Jeffrey Budd Matthew Burns Jarred Butler Zachary Cannon
Cameron Carlock Colleen Carnes Chase Carpenter John Carr Christopher Carter Matthew Carter April Cavanah Christopher Cheatwood Kristin Childress Kyle Ciotti Chandler Coffman Benjamin Coleman Lauren Compton Jarrod Connally Casey Cosby Michael Courtney Eric Cowles Rebecca Crouch Justin Cutts Linh Dao Sa Dao Koty Daugherty Shane Davis Theresa Day Nolan DeBurger Pamela Decker Brian Deignan Indira Delic Jordan Denny
me how to articulate myself — a skill I will carry forever. Our staff of coaches pushed me to be better both inside and outside of the team, but they also were a shoulder to cry on when I needed it. They sat me down for meetings when they were worried about my personal happiness, and they were always interested in what I was doing outside of the Forensics office. Just like the coaches, my team members were also heavily connected to one another. They were my running and work-out buddies, they were note takers when I missed class because of conferences, and they were in the hospital with me at 3 a.m. when I needed them. Over my four years on the team, we won a lot of trophies, and several national championships, but that is not what I will remember the most. I will remember the deep talks we had, the
Erin Desmarais Jessica Donnelly Jake Downey John Doyle Garek Dunham Logan Edelen Kaylee Egerer Brandon Elder Heidi Estes Lucas Fisher Ryan Fisher Danielle Fleming Christopher Ford Ashley Forgy Samantha Forney Alejandro Franco Kelsea Fulkerson Kyle Fuller Stefan Gavula Thibault Girin Tyran Golden Alesha Goodman Emily Greenwood Bret Grizzard Shuai Guo Christina Hale You Han Alex Hare Madison Harris
Amelia Harshfield Isaac Hart Holly Hatcher Benjamin Haynes Andrew Heiser Justin Henderson Carol Henson Dwayne Hicks Andrew Hill Vivian Hinojosa Kody Hoadley Hanh Hoang Jarrod Hogue Joshua Holland Jennifer Honeycutt Clay Houston Adam Howard Jeffrey Howard Travis Howell Admira Hrustanovic Amber Hughes Erin Hughes Lindsey Hulsey James Hume Sabina Husic Kortez Ivory Cody Jackson Zachary Jenkins Ji Wei Jiang Tyler Julian
Thomas Kaercher Harveen Kaur Richard Kendall Amy Kerner Douglas Kleeschulte Benjamin Knott Chris Kopple Chad Kruger Daniel Kurzendoerfer Kymber Lamers Michael Langlois Nghia Le Diego Leal Ambriz Megan Lee Seth Leinenbach Richard Lennan Derek Lewis ZhiQiang Li Nawanan Limsuebchuea Nian Liu Natilea Logsdon Shichen Lu Zhenzhen Lu Dana Lucas Meagan Mackey Jason Marshall William Martin Andrejs Maskancevs Cassandra Matthews Zachary Mattingly
amazing performances they gave, and the joy I got watching each of them grow. Ultimately, what I got out of WKU Forensics, I could not have gotten out of a college experience alone. Now as this chapter of my life comes to a close, I realize that I will miss it greatly. I competed in forensics in college, high school, middle school and elementary school, for a grand total of 10 years. As a 21-yearold, that’s nearly half of my life. It’s a weird feeling that I will try to capture with words here: My forensics career is not ending. The very word “forensics” means “to find the truth,” which I will always be doing in some capacity. The only difference is that I will be doing that in the real world, which I am unbelievably excited for. Thank you for all that you have given me, Forensics.
Kyle McCord Kristie McDuffee Rachel Meckstroth Mary Meffert Gautier Meyer Martin Miller Thomas Miller Jordan Minton Cain Mitchell Mitchell Moore Thomas Morris Kristin Mosley James Mote Aldin Mujezinovic Dao Nguyen Huy Nguyen Joel Nivens Jennifer Noble Ryan Ogden Ryan Ossege Jin Uk Park Krunal Patel Joseph Pawley Amanda Payne Patricia Payne William Petredis Laurie Peyroche Hoa Pham Nathaniel Pohl Rachel Poindexter
Charlie Portmann Allen Powell Stephanie Raley Camille Ranc Jacob Ray Dustin Read Hollie Reed Brittany Rexing Ashley Rice Katie Richardson John Rieppel Aurelie Rinaldi Mary Roach Dustin Roberts Tyler Roberts Stephanie Romano Sarah Root Dashawn Rush Brian Russell Deus Rwaheru Carrie Saleba Amir Salkic Brooke Savitz Daniel Schmidt Jake Schuler Sydnee Seaman Arul Selvan Matthew Setters Kyle Sexton Nicholas Seymour
Meagan Sharpe Keshia Shockley Misty Sickels William Simpkins Ian Simpson John Simpson David Slaughter Cecilia Smith Gloria Smith Justin Smith Travis Smith William Smith Wen Song Chelsea Springer Travis Stauffer Chris Steinker Garrett Stembridge John Stephens Ricky Stiltner Derrick Stinnett Caroline Story Alyssa Surina Anna Tapscott Daniel Taylor Kyle Terry Ameliah Tom Michael Tonini Peyton Townley David Trabue Hung Tran
Thomas Travis Quynh Nhu Truong Christopher Tucker Gina Tyler Tenille Tynes Tyler Underwood Joseph Upchurch Carina VanMeter Jonathan Vickous Kadian Waite Adaline Wakefield Catherine Watson Thomas Watters Zachary Wedding Mark Wegener Brandi West Brandon Westmoreland Brandon White
Kristopher White Robert Whittley Daniel Williams Jessica Williams Kristopher Williams Allison Willian Katelin Wilson Kathy Wilson Seth Wilson Damian Wirth April Wooten Rui da Yang Ye Yang Mariah Yates Tanya Zackery GuangHai Zhang Yujing Zhang Qingyuan Zhou
Congratulations Graduates! GORDON FORD
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS