"If you can communicate, the world is your oyster," said Earl Stoll when interviewed for winning his fourth perfect score in four years of the state forensics competition. "Forensics ... It's a blast. It's a fun experience, an experience to test your communication skills."
Earl has always liked reading. As a kid he would chase after people to read to them whether they wanted him to or not. He started participating in forensics in the sixth grade. In middle school, he had to be told to keep looking at his paper even though he had memorized his piece. In high school, he learned to make audience contact. He has done prose every year.
He chose the prose category because he likes to read, and there's not enough poetry that is correctly themed for his taste. Each of his selections has been humorous, except for the piece from his senior year. He chose a selection from "Road of the Patriarch." For his speaking he received a 25, a perfect score, all through high school. He was one of only ten students from the 4900 participants at the state forensics festival this year to earn the distinction of a four-time perfect score.
He has always been confident in his reading. It was something he learned at an early age. He developed his reading skill by being read to every night by his parents. Mrs. Olson, his elementary school librarian, who always read to classes, was also an influence. Listening to others read helped Earl recognize that others express things differently.
Next fall, he will be attending Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. Although Gustavus has one of the top forensics teams in the nation, in freshman year he is going to "let it slide" due to the time requirement. But after he gets "used to" college he will see if he can fit it into his schedule.
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He is currently writing "The Student Guide to Forensics State," a short guide for future NHS forensics participants. Two bits of advice he was willing to share: "Don't worry too much about forensics itself. Have fun," and "Get your friends to state. It's always more fun with people you know."
Nellie Taylor is a student reporter for the Northwestern High School newspaper.
