Testimonials
What Forensics Has Meant to Me: Jennifer Pietka
My father, Scott Nobles, was the forensics coach from the mid-1950's until 1969. All of his students know what a great teacher he was, as well as a very effective and winning coach.
I debated both in high school and college, and the skills I learned from the program helped me to be a thoughtful and rational adult.
~ Jennifer Pietka 1973 English, French
What Forensics Has Meant to Me: Jennifer Nobles Pietka
As a high school senior in 1969, I attended a summer workshop at the UO and got my first introduction to forensics. This was a surprise to most people since my father was the forensics coach at the time. I was hooked. I immediately became a high school debater and the following year a debater at the UO. As a novice, I won a small Oregon tournament. What a thrill!
Debate was not only my most engaging experience of high school and college, it also was my most educational. I learned how to organize my thoughts logically, how to research my ideas, how to work and communicate effectively with my teammates, how to manage my time in speaking, and how to be confident in speaking to a group. These skills carried me forward as I later became a high school English teacher and then the owner of a court-reporting firm in Portland.
My father and many other professionals over the years put their hearts and souls into the forensic program. A continuation of the program would allow many more students to learn the skills I learned at the hands of truly dedicated teachers.
- Jennifer Nobles Pietka
What Forensics Has Meant to Me: Danielle Endres
I would not be where I am today without Oregon Forensics. I use the critical thinking, argumentation, and research skills I learned through my participation on the debate team everyday in my position as a professor. The successes I have had in my career all trace back from what I learned from Oregon Forensics. Thirty years later I am still in touch with the lifelong friends I made while participating in this program.
- Danielle Endres
How Forensics Elevated the University of Oregon: Annie Borgen
As a competitor of UOMT, I earned an All-Regional Outstanding Attorney award in our 2020 Regionals competition. Additionally, teams I captained during UOMT won three Spirit of the American Mock Trial Awards at separate competitions. When I coached UOMT in 2023, our program DOMINATED the Regional competition, with all 4 competing teams earning top spots in the competition (above incredibly prestigious institutions, such as University of Washington and UC Berkeley), with 2 moving on to the ORCS competition (because 2 is the maximum allowed per school). Further, multiple students won All-Regional Awards for Outstanding Attorneys and Witnesses. I also helped with tabulation for the Duckpond Showdown Tournament, which was founded by a former UOMT member, which recruits many high school students to UO specifically because of mock trial. As a current coach of King Kekaulike High School's mock trial team in Maui, I frequently refer to my experiences at UO Mock Trial, including techniques, tips, and tricks I learned, but also how impactful my experiences were to grow as a person. I encourage my students vehemently to participate in mock trial when/if they go to college, and always recommend UO.
~ Annie Borgen 2022 psychology
Shaping My Career Beyond UO: Annie Borgen
My experiences in forensics (UO Mock Trial, specifically) was instrumental in pursuing my legal career. Post-graduation, I coached UOMT for a year. Subsequently, I interned at the Maui County Prosecutor's Office. Currently, I am a 3L law student at the William S. Richardson School of Law. I am an oralist and a captain of our schoolʻs Jessup International Law Moot Court Team, of which my interest to join was sparked by my mock trial experiences. I am also a current coach of King Kekaulike High School's mock trial team in Maui, passing on the knowledge I learned from UOMT. This past summer, I was judicial extern to the Chief Justice of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court. All of these experiences connect back to UOMT and I talk about my experience in the program at all of them.
~ Annie Borgen 2022 psychology
What Forensics Has Meant to Me: Annie Borgen
UO Mock Trial was a turning point in my path toward becoming a lawyer. As a competitor, I earned an All-Regional Outstanding Attorney award in 2020 and captained teams that won three Spirit of the American Mock Trial Awards. Along the way, I made friends that I will have for life. After graduating, I returned as a coach in 2023, when UOMT had one of its most successful seasons— all four teams placed at Regionals (above prestigious institutions like UW and UC Berkeley), two advanced to ORCS (since that is the maximum per school), and several students earned individual awards. I also supported tabulation for the Duckpond Showdown Tournament (founded by a UOMT competitor), which continues to bring high school students to UO specifically because of mock trial.
The skills I built at UOMT—thinking quickly under pressure, speaking with clarity, and leading a team—have carried me through every step since my time in forensics. I interned at the Maui County Prosecutor’s Office, externed for the Chief Justice of the Hawaiʻi Supreme Court, and now, as a 3L at the William S. Richardson School of Law, I’m captain and oralist on our Jessup International Law Moot Court Team. I also coach King Kekaulike High School’s mock trial team in Maui, where I pass on the same techniques, strategies, and lessons I first learned at UOMT.
For me, UOMT wasn’t just an activity—it’s the foundation I keep building on, and I recommend it to every student who wants to challenge themselves and grow.~ Annie Borgen 2022 psychology
What Forensics Has Meant to Me: Velma Lee
I was a traveling judge for the UO Duck team, the training and experience in Forensics to prepare students/ citizens for civil debate and dialogue is beyond words!
~ Velma Lee 1992 Finance and Marketing
How Forensics Elevated the University of Oregon: Peter Messer
The success I enjoyed as a debater made people from other universities more aware of the University and the state. As we travelled around the country people knew who we were and that we would be good at what we did because they already encountered successful teams and smart students from the University. Other universities regularly sought to recruit University of Oregon debate and forensic students to their graduate programs. The University of Oregon forensics had a great brand--smart and creative students who people wanted to recruit for their universities/colleges.
On campus my experience with forensics led me to be a regular moderator for campus debates and discussions. I worked with the student association to help put on their debates for student government and was, at least during the debates, the public face of the association.
Locally my connections with debate led KVAL to offer me (and my colleague Tina Roe) to evaluate the 1988 mayor debate (my dates may be off).
~ Peter Messer 1990 Clark Honors College
Shaping My Career Beyond UO: Peter Messer
As an academic, and historian, I use all of the basic skills debate helped cultivate every day. I do research to defend an argument of my own making; I critically read both the evidence I assemble, and the other interpretations of that evidence; I communicate my findings both in writing and verbally to my colleagues and students. Debate and forensics, in short, has proved invaluable to my professional career since graduation.
~ Peter Messer 1990 Clark Honors College
Building My Academic and Intellectual Core: Peter Messer
Participation in forensics introduced me to a wide variety of academic literatures beyond those I would have encountered studying history. Topics on Latin America and arms control introduced me to literatures in political science and communications/rhetoric,. Topics on drug testing and freedom of speech introduced me to academic work on the law, business, economics and medicine. A topic on gun control introduced me to work by scholars in sociology and criminology. Throughout all of these topics and others I found myself reading philosophy and even literary theory. There is simply no better way to expose a student to a diverse range of academic subjects than researching debate topics.
Debate, because of the necessity of constructing strong arguments from evidence on both sides of a question, sharpened my ability to do research, think critically about evidence and arguments, and to consider a wide variety of perspectives on an issue. The limited times given for speaking and presenting idea sharpened both my writing and verbal skills, helping me to learn to express myself clearly and concisely. Forensics, in short, prepares students to consume information critically, to articulate their views clearly, and to consider or take seriously all evidence-based views on an issue.
~ Peter Messer 1990 Clark Honors College
How You can Help
STAY IN TOUCH