If she wins the national competition she made her way through to this July, hopefully it won't feel hollow for her.

The 16-year-old Trinity Anglican College year 11 student will head to Brisbane next month to compete in the national finals of the competition, which entails an eight-minute prepared speech and a three-minute impromptu speech.

Monique has chosen to discuss winning the lottery as the the topic for her eight-minute speech.

“It took a long time to put together, with the topics we were able to choose from, it took a long time to think of ideas,” she said.

“Once I got the idea in my head, it was easy to elaborate on it and keep going until I got to the eight minute mark.

“I talked about the pitfalls of winning the lottery, how it can affect a person and how it's not always a good thing.”

Having settled on the lottery concept after spending a considerable amount of time brainstorming, Monique said she had been refining her speech using feedback from the state judges.

Now one of the best seven student public speakers in the country (the national finals are between the seven state finals winners), Monique said being able to practice impromptu speech writing had been the most valuable part of the competition thus far.

“I've found it a little easier to do after a few competitions,” Monique said.

“We had 15 minutes to prepare, so I found it a bit easier compared to one where we only had one minute.

“It's going to be tough competition.

“It'll be a step up, but there's also lots of other activities and stuff planned.

“I haven’t memorised my speech yet, I'm still editing and refining it.”

Trinity English teacher and debate and public speaking coordinator Stephen Kilgour said public speaking skills had a huge amount of value for students long after they left school.

“Public speaking skills are something employers are looking for more and more,” he said.

“I know they're something that can mean the difference between getting a promotion and not getting a promotion.

“Having an ability to present is really valuable, and it's also a great confidence booster.

“I really think it's a life skill, and a really important one at that.

“Monique works very hard, she's really improved her public speaking skills over the last year or so.

“She's doing a really great job at the moment.”

Win or lose, Monique, who plans to become a doctor after finishing year 12, has done her school proud.