Heather Canary, Director, School of Communication

Welcome to a new school year for the SDSU School of Communication and Aztec Forensics! It is such a privilege to serve as the new School Director, taking over for Dr. Bill Snavely who retired earlier this summer. I come to SDSU as a Southern California native, having lived most of my life in Orange County. Most recently, I was a faculty member at the University of Utah and at Arizona State University. As with many professors in the communication discipline, I was first introduced to the field through my involvement in speech and debate in high school and college. Those formative experiences stay with me today in a variety of contexts, confirming to me the central importance of forensics for shaping future leaders. I am excited for all that we will accomplish with Aztec Forensics in the coming years.

 

Jason Edgar Director of Forensics

First and foremost, it is my pleasure to introduce our new Director of Forensics, Jason Edgar (MA, University of Arkansas). Jason has 11 years of coaching experience prior to coming to SDSU. He started forensics programs at both Barton Community College and Crowder College. He directed the Speech and Debate program at Missouri Western State University from 2015-2017. In 2016, Mr. Edgar was named Coach of the Year by the Missouri Association of Forensics Activities. Last March, his top Parliamentary Debate team placed 9th at the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence.

Jason's extensive experience coaching individual events and various forms of debate with be an asset to San Diego State University. He will be working with our graduate student coaches to develop the skills of our existing team members and attract new students to the Forensics Team.

 

 

 

Competition is not the only item on our agenda. This year we plan to foster a closer connection to the SDSU Speech and Debate alumni and supporters by keeping you up to date on all the exciting news of #AztecForensics, molding “The Aztec Invitational” into an annual alumni gathering, and refreshing our social media presence. You can like us right now at facebook.com/SDSUForensics.

If you would like to serve as a judge for the Aztec Invitational this fall, please contact Jason Edgar at jedgar@sdsu.edu.

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With this newsletter, we are pleased to feature team member Nicci Stebbins:

Hi there! My name is Nicci Stebbins and I am a member of the San Diego State University Speech and Debate team. I started speech way back in grade school when I showed up to a Forensics event expecting to solve a murder mystery. Not having a speech prepared, I was invited to do impromptu. To my surprise, I ended up winning first place. Fast forward to college, I joined the Orange Coast College Speech and Debate team, where I traveled to State Championships both years and Nationals Championships my sophomore year. After graduating with my AA, I transferred to SDSU in hopes of joining the speech team while furthering my education. I earned several awards in this last year of competing, including 1st place in two individual events at CSU-Northridge, and qualified for the American Forensic Association National Individual Events Tournament. I also had the opportunity to present my After Dinner speech at the Western State Communication Association Conference this past spring. My goals this year are to earn my bachelors, to gain acceptance to my top choice graduate program, to continue competing on the national circuit and to qualify once more to AFA Nationals. My hobbies include cooking, baking, writing fiction, and hanging out with my seven pets (four praying mantises, one scorpion, a bearded dragon and a cat).

Nicci Stebbins has been the recipient of the Robert L. Benjamin Scholarship and the Kevin Simmons Memorial Scholarship.

Best regards,

Heather Canary, PhD
Director, School of Communication
San Diego State University

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