Sixteen year old Emily Adamson has won the Australian Debating and Public Speaking Championships last month in Sydney.
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Miss Adamson who studied through the Aurora program at Murrumbidgee Regional High School, in NSW's Riverina, has been speaking her mind ever since she can remember.
"If you count me debating against my dad since I was three, I've been debating a long time." Miss Adamson joked.
The current PLC Sydney student outshone the competition to gain a spot on her school's team in Term 2 this year. She then found herself competing with the best in the country at the Australian Championships on the 27th to 30th of September.
Born and raised in Griffith, Miss Adamson said she had mixed feelings about the pressure of such a big event but was overall excited to compete.
"I was very nervous to compete. We only had about a term of preparation to research and prepare topics." Miss Adamson said.
"It was very nerve wracking but also exciting at the same time."
The competition consisted of four main sections: Interpretive reading, Persuasive Speaking, Impromptu Speaking and British Parliamentary Debating. But for Miss Adamson who doesn't mind a bit of pressure, impromptu speaking is where she comes alive.
"I think I am a person who thrives under pressure," Miss Adamson explained.
"I think this is why my favourite section is impromptu speaking because it's only two minutes of preparation of what you are going to say so you really have to give it everything."
Miss Adamson placed in the finals for two events and finished in the top 10 for the others, however she didn't know that she had won until the last day when the final scores were announced.
"It was the biggest relief really," Miss Adamson joked.
"It was so exciting. I did not expect to win at all,"
"I put in a lot of hard work but I still didn't expect to be at the top. It was really validating." Miss Adamson said.
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She has now qualified for the World Public Speaking and Debating Championships which are scheduled to be held in South Africa next year.
"I think now with COVID restrictions the competition will be via Zoom in April next year.
"It's a bit overwhelming the thought of competing at the world scale, but I am excited to take it on and take everything I've learnt this year and give it my all."
Miss Adamson has no set plans for her future study direction just yet but hopes something within the arts or economics arena would be interesting.