Nhill College student Zara Clark has won the Wimmera Legacy Junior Public Speaking Award for a second consecutive year.
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The 15-year-old was one of two winners on Thursday afternoon, at an event attended by students aged between 12 and 15 from five schools in Ouyen, Donald, Nhill, Kaniva and Horsham.
She and Ouyen P-12 College's Milla Searle will now contest the zone finals in Ballarat later this year.
Miss Clark made it to the state finals at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance 2018.
"Public speaking has made me not as nervous," she said. "I'm co-captain of my netball team, and it's helped me be able to give better team talks before a game, and even speaking at school in front of people."
For the competition, all 15 students were given time to prepare a five-minute speech related to the three ideals of Wimmera Legacy: Voluntary service, mateship and self-sacrifice.
The second winner, Ouyen P-12 College student Milla Searle, chose to write her speech on the negative effects of wanting popularity.
"I'm pretty proud because it took a lot of work," she said.
St. Brigid's College student Mikayla Sotiriadis, 13, finished runner-up. She wrote her speech on the mateship between man and dog.
"I entered last year and did it about poverty in different countries. I interviewed one of my friends about their experience coming from Myanmar," she said.
"I think public speaking gives me more confidence. When I grow up, I want to do something in legal, so of course I'm going to have to talk in the courtroom."
Wimmera Legacy represents 170 widows in the region. President Neville Smith said in 2011, Nhill resident Matthew Hall won the nationwide competition.
This year, the state final will be held at the Shrine of Remembrance on October 25, and the national final at the same location on November 12.
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