Adriel’s parent’s house is small, so he had to practice in the mirror in his parent’s bedroom - while his mom was busy cooking so she couldn’t listen.

Amber is a second-generation student. Both her parents had Tommie as a teacher. It was her father that persuaded her to join the forensics team.

Di’Jonn and Cherie say that one of the hardest things to learn is to accept criticism. They listened and won State in their sophomore year.

Robert’s mother is African American and his father is Hispanic. He says he never felt accepted by either group.

Jermaine played basketball, and was captain of the freshman team. He quit basketball to devote his time to forensics.

Marcelo and Mike went to different colleges after graduation. Now they compete against each other in forensics.

LaToya and Pierre didn’t get along at first. They’ve worked through their differences and now are an award-winning duo team.

Erica, Tommie’s daughter, says boys were afraid to ask her out in high school. Her father intimidated them. She now attends UCLA.