Coleambally Central School student Natalia Burgess has roared into the state finals in the Lions Club of Australia Youth of the Year competition.
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Natalia won the public speaking section and was the overall winner at the Lions District N-4 Youth of the Year final which was held in Griffith on the weekend.
Coleambally Lions secretary Maurice Boldiston said "we're quite proud of her because the contest has been going since 1981 and she is the first Coly girl who has gone through to the state final."
Natalia said she first entered the competition to gain experience in public speaking and quick thinking, skills she hopes translate into the future when working on her dream career as a hotel manager.
With the state finals competition to be held in Tamworth in April, Natalia said she never expected to perform so well.
The public speaking competition involves an interview section where participants are asked to give two minute answers to impromptu questions.
There is also a prepared speech section where participants must give a five minute speech on a topic of their choice.
Natalia won both of these sections while competing at a local Lions competition as well as at a zone competition.
In the prepared section this year Natalia said she has been advocating for the 'war against waste.'
"If we don't care for our environment now it's not going to be here tomorrow, I spoke about straws, waste from plastic bags, paper and plastic coffee lids as well as Australia's ecological footprint," Natalia said.
Facing fierce competition in Griffith, Natalia said it was her ability to stay calm and collected which allowed her to excel in the impromptu section and take the win.
The first questions she was asked was how she would describe a modern day hero?
"It really is important to give back, I used my mum as an example because she is a great role model."
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