Congratulations to our Year 12 student Allegra Bradley who won the annual Proserpine Lions Club ‘Youth of the Year’ award at their Club Night on the 20th February.
Allegra was one of six competitors representing Proserpine State High School and St Catherine’s Catholic College, who gave it their best throughout the night. Topics such as ‘The inspiring power of music’ and ‘Why alarm clocks are the true villains’ engaged and entertained the audience made up of Lions Club and community members, and family.
Allegra’s speech on the topic of public speaking and facing your fears inspired the judges, gaining her a total 100 out of 100 points, and will now take her to the zone level of competition that will be held in Proserpine on Sunday the 9th March, 2025.
“I believe that my speech will continue to relate to my audience, as public speaking is a fear most people face. All I can do is try my best and hope for the best”, Allegra said.
On Monday 17th February, Allegra joined by Savannah Lamont, Thalia Foster, Sonny Telford, Finlay Farrell, and Andrew Kimlin – each underwent a gruelling interview process where they responded to questions assessing their character and input within their school communities and their extracurricular involvement within the wider Whitsunday community.
This process earned each student their first score out of 70, however, it all came down to the final on club night to determine the winner.
As well as their individual prepared speeches, each student on the night was asked two spontaneous questions and had two minutes to respond.
The Lions Youth of the Year competition was adopted by the Lions Club more than 60 years ago, originating in Queensland.
“The Lions love this night, it’s one of the highlights of their calendar,” Jane Bettridge Proserpine Club Youth of the Year Chairperson said.
The student’s confidence, professionalism and sportsmanship were also praised by the Lions Club members, representing youth in a positive light.
“Congratulations to all participants and the amazing work of the Judges, Proserpine Lions Club members and volunteers from the night”, Allegra said.