Competitive forensics (speech and debate) has been widely established as a pivotal co-curricular activity for skill development in public speaking, communication, and argumentation. Forensics has touched and changed countless lives, being a conduit for competitors to give themselves a voice, foster lifelong relationships, and even discover a career path in communication education, eventually becoming mentors and guides for the next generation of communicators. In this autoethnography, I write my way through my experiences as an undergraduate collegiate forensic competitor pursuing a career in forensic education. My accounts will provide valuable, detailed insight into how I have navigated my first encounters with the success, challenges, joys, fears, and insecurities that accompany the journey of a future educator. My hope is that future generations of forensic educators will be able to use this document as an artifact to chart pedagogical journeys of their own.
