WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.250 --> 00:00:02.910 - We're here today with Yasmin Wadhwani and Alex Finan, 2 00:00:02.910 --> 00:00:05.580 captains of our Bear Creek forensics team. 3 00:00:05.580 --> 00:00:06.760 Forensics here at Bear Creek 4 00:00:06.760 --> 00:00:08.040 is not what you might think it is, 5 00:00:08.040 --> 00:00:10.770 it's not going out and dissecting crime scenes, 6 00:00:10.770 --> 00:00:11.820 it's speech and debate. 7 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:13.830 So our students get to debate one another, 8 00:00:13.830 --> 00:00:16.410 go to tournaments, stand up and do oratory 9 00:00:16.410 --> 00:00:19.600 and extemporaneous things that really sharpen their ability 10 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:23.170 to be in front of people and to debate and understand ideas. 11 00:00:23.170 --> 00:00:24.690 Love to talk to you guys a little bit today 12 00:00:24.690 --> 00:00:26.810 about your experience on the forensics team. 13 00:00:26.810 --> 00:00:28.760 So why don't we start, Alex I want you start 14 00:00:28.760 --> 00:00:30.650 and tell us, how long have you been on forensics 15 00:00:30.650 --> 00:00:34.670 and what attracted you to forensics, and Yasmin, same thing. 16 00:00:34.670 --> 00:00:37.323 - So I started forensics in eighth grade. 17 00:00:38.684 --> 00:00:40.280 The initial attraction was actually, 18 00:00:40.280 --> 00:00:43.900 my brother was doing it and I wanted to 19 00:00:43.900 --> 00:00:47.740 defend my right for the television channels, to be honest. 20 00:00:47.740 --> 00:00:50.310 It was more like a skill that I thought 21 00:00:50.310 --> 00:00:53.020 could be useful, could be fun. 22 00:00:53.020 --> 00:00:56.380 My brother was there so there's some familiarity. 23 00:00:56.380 --> 00:01:00.730 But also, my brother would always destroy me in debates 24 00:01:00.730 --> 00:01:02.280 about which television channel to choose, 25 00:01:02.280 --> 00:01:04.430 so that was probably the biggest reason. 26 00:01:04.430 --> 00:01:08.800 But then, my initial experience with it 27 00:01:09.730 --> 00:01:13.210 led me to continue until senior year. 28 00:01:13.210 --> 00:01:15.830 So I stuck with it since middle school 29 00:01:15.830 --> 00:01:20.730 and really what kept me, was more of a love of 30 00:01:20.730 --> 00:01:22.963 understanding other people's ideas. 31 00:01:23.910 --> 00:01:27.490 I like to think of discussions as a marketplace of ideas 32 00:01:27.490 --> 00:01:29.860 where every idea has validity. 33 00:01:29.860 --> 00:01:33.860 And so, the ability to work together with other students 34 00:01:33.860 --> 00:01:38.860 and think of valuable ideas that could benefit our community 35 00:01:40.900 --> 00:01:44.120 is very impactful, I feel like it has a lot of value 36 00:01:44.120 --> 00:01:46.150 for society in general. 37 00:01:46.150 --> 00:01:47.690 - Well that's cool, so it started out really small 38 00:01:47.690 --> 00:01:49.590 and then grew into this idea of 39 00:01:49.590 --> 00:01:51.610 being part of the marketplace of ideas, 40 00:01:51.610 --> 00:01:52.700 which is a big part. - Something larger, 41 00:01:52.700 --> 00:01:53.533 yeah. - Yeah, that's great. 42 00:01:53.533 --> 00:01:54.880 Yasmin, how about for you? 43 00:01:54.880 --> 00:01:56.350 - I also started in eighth grade, 44 00:01:56.350 --> 00:02:00.100 so we have been on this journey together for five years now. 45 00:02:00.100 --> 00:02:01.890 And I initially got started in debate 46 00:02:01.890 --> 00:02:03.200 because my mom signed me up, 47 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:05.300 because she said I was so good at arguing at home 48 00:02:05.300 --> 00:02:07.730 that I had to put it forward to something else. 49 00:02:07.730 --> 00:02:10.890 And I got started in the speech side of forensics 50 00:02:10.890 --> 00:02:13.070 because my mom accidentally signed me up for my camp, 51 00:02:13.070 --> 00:02:16.100 so my mom was a huge part in this. 52 00:02:16.100 --> 00:02:17.920 And I continued through speech and debate 53 00:02:17.920 --> 00:02:19.140 all the way through senior year. 54 00:02:19.140 --> 00:02:21.910 Again, because I felt like my ideas were heard 55 00:02:21.910 --> 00:02:23.270 and they were taken into account 56 00:02:23.270 --> 00:02:25.400 to something larger than myself. 57 00:02:25.400 --> 00:02:27.570 And I also started to see a change in myself. 58 00:02:27.570 --> 00:02:29.400 After my year of eighth grade, 59 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:33.350 my essays were so much better than they were before 60 00:02:33.350 --> 00:02:34.840 and I started seeing all these skills 61 00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:36.920 that I could take from speech and debate 62 00:02:36.920 --> 00:02:41.150 and use in my life in scenarios where I couldn't before. 63 00:02:41.150 --> 00:02:43.870 I think that speech and debate is unique 64 00:02:43.870 --> 00:02:47.740 in that it's so dynamic, and you can literally just say 65 00:02:47.740 --> 00:02:50.680 hey, this is what I want and this is what I like 66 00:02:50.680 --> 00:02:52.450 and we'll say, great there's an event for you. 67 00:02:52.450 --> 00:02:55.770 And that's true for I think, anyone who's willing to try it. 68 00:02:55.770 --> 00:02:58.040 - So it's pretty broad in, well you can get plugged niche 69 00:02:58.040 --> 00:02:59.810 or get plugged in all the way across the board. 70 00:02:59.810 --> 00:03:02.320 - Yeah, and it's interesting because, 71 00:03:02.320 --> 00:03:04.260 once you find your niche, 72 00:03:04.260 --> 00:03:07.000 sometimes you're kind of hesitant to go out of it. 73 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.850 But the speech event that I've continued 74 00:03:09.850 --> 00:03:12.580 for three years now, I actually said, 75 00:03:12.580 --> 00:03:15.680 I will never compete in this, I hate it so much. 76 00:03:15.680 --> 00:03:18.510 And then, here I am competing in it, still. 77 00:03:18.510 --> 00:03:22.210 So, I think that literally just kind of jumping full in 78 00:03:22.210 --> 00:03:24.150 and saying, I'm not so keen on this, 79 00:03:24.150 --> 00:03:26.180 but I know that I'm part of a larger community 80 00:03:26.180 --> 00:03:28.740 and they'll support me, that's what puts you through. 81 00:03:28.740 --> 00:03:30.680 - So thank you guys for joining us today, 82 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:32.770 really appreciate you showing our community 83 00:03:32.770 --> 00:03:35.480 what the forensics program at Bear Creek is all about, 84 00:03:35.480 --> 00:03:37.680 about sharing your perspective and how you've grown 85 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:40.513 as individuals here at the Bear Creek School.