Anita L. DeFrantz, Olympic bronze medalist in rowing and one of the most powerful figures in international sports, returned to her alma mater Connecticut College to deliver the 2004 commencement address. DeFrantz built her entire speech around two words: 'critical thinking' — a skill she traced from her first humbling essay assignment at Connecticut College through her Olympic career and her fight against the U.S. government. DeFrantz argued that the ability to question inconsistencies — to ask 'why?' when something doesn't add up — is the most essential skill for navigating both personal life and citizenship. She demonstrated this by applying critical thinking to the Declaration of Independence itself, concluding that 'all men are created equal' really meant 'all of my friends are created equal.' While she still found this unacceptable, the exercise of thinking critically at least allowed her to understand why the inconsistency existed.