Meet the Team

Amanda “Tiny and White and Ready to Fight ” Brewster was born in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1998. Amanda joined the team her sophomore year and has portrayed a range of witnesses in the years following. She has earned four Best Witness Awards in three years. Amanda enjoys reading, travelling, biking, singing, and speaking to everyone in Spanish (especially if they don’t speak Spanish). Though she has yet to pick a school, Amanda plans to attend college in the fall to study biology and Spanish. Her favorite color is teal and her favorite animal is, appropriately, the panda.

Ana Marie “So Small Yet So Wise” Broden was born in South Bend, Indiana in 1998 to her faves, John and Josephine Broden, and experienced her rebirth when she joined this mock trial team her junior year. When she is not mock trialing it, she enjoys running at a slow pace, creating any type of art, eating pasta, and fostering various kittens she finds outside. She plans to attend Purdue University and major in psychology and studio art, and then hopefully attend Drexel University to earn a PhD in art therapy. She wants to have her own art studio and plans to graduate from fostering kittens to fostering children and kittens. Most importantly, her favorite color is periwinkle, and if she could be any animal, she would be a mole or a kitten, depending on the day.

Elijah “Did You Watch Any More Buffy Yet?” Grammer was born in Jeannette, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh) in 2000, which makes him “the baby" of the team. Elijah enjoys watching way too much Netflix and YouTube, biking, researching random topics online, convincing all of his friends to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and discussing current events. A member of the team since his freshman year, he has never won a Best Attorney Award and is perfectly content to let his co-counsel outshine him. Elijah plans to attend the University of Notre Dame and study one of the several disciplines for which he has great passion in the College of Arts and Letters . His favorite color is crimson and he desperately wishes he had a cat.

Alice “Have I Mentioned I’m a Vegan?” Goulding was born in London, England in 1999. She has participated in mock trial since her freshman year of high school, and was part of the team that won the state competition last year. She enjoys traveling, eating vegan, and debating American foreign policy, or crunchy vs creamy peanut butter. When not participating in mock trial, Alice runs for cross country, reads books in French Club, presides over Model UN, and writes and edits for the school newspaper, The Tower. Her favorite color is smaragdine, and she loves spending time with her two lovable dogs, Rosencrantz and Ralph. Alice anticipates attending Penn, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, or perhaps another school east of here in the fall and hopes to double major in English and political science, as well as minor in Middle Eastern studies.

Brendan “The Power Lies within the Hair” Hayner-Slattery was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. His copious use of the phrase “Not Necessarily” served as the inspiration for the name of the team this year. During his years competing in mock trial , Brendan has won six Best Attorney Awards at regional and state competitions, and the length of his objection responses is surpassed only by the length of his hair. He can often be found writing mock trial scripts, working on math homework, watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or, once in a rare while, sleeping. He plans to attend the University of *mumblemumble* and study philosophy or animal intelligence or theater or law or something. His favorite color is ultramarine, and his favorite animal is the dolphin - followed closely by the human.

Robert “Fro Bro; Pale and Goin to Yale” Howard was born in South Bend in 1999, and despite being one of the youngest in his grade, is only the third-youngest member of the team. Robert enjoys doing math homework, playing trombone, sleeping, and doing more math homework. He earned his first-ever Best Witness Awards (one at regionals and one at state) this year for his portrayal of Dr. Clarence Day, a retired anthropologist who enjoys watching his neighbors with binoculars. Robert will be attending Yale University starting in the fall of this year, majoring in, unsurprisingly, mathematics. His favorite color is cobalt and he enjoys showing off his luscious mane of hair.

Douglas “I Like Sharp Things” Moody was born in Gainesville, Florida in 1998. Douglas is exactly one year older than Robert. He is an Eagle Scout with 1^st Degree Black Belts in Karate and Kobudo. He plays, sings, and talks bass. He plans to study physics at Florida State University beginning this fall, much to the chagrin of Elijah, who has threatened to disown him for taking up with the Seminoles. Don’t let any of that fool you into thinking that Doug is a serious person. Doug is really six years old on the inside and loves Power Rangers. His favorite color is chartreuse, or navy blue depending.

Abi “Yes I’m Six Feet Tall and Yes, I Kill It In Heels” Trzaskowski was born in South Bend Indiana. Abi is a two-year member of the 2017 stat-winning mock trial team “Not Necessarily.” She enjoys playing rugby and volleyball, gardening, going to Spanish Club, and hanging out with friends and family. Abi will attend Ball State University beginning in the fall, where she will study speech pathology and Spanish. However, her ultimate goal is to become a backpacker and walk from North America to the tip of South America. Her favorite color is purple, and her favorite animals are sharks, goats, and cats.