Distinguished Young Women

 
When I was a Junior in high school, I entered a program to compete for the opportunity to win college scholarships. It was called Distinguished Young Women of America, and was essentially equivalent to a scholastic Miss America. I was drawn to the program for the opportunity to perform and discuss what actions I had taken to better myself and my community, and the scholarships were of course an incentive. Upon entering at the local level, I never thought that I would win, let alone continue to advance through multiple stages of the competition. Finally, I was invited to the national stage as one of fifty young women chosen to be a national spokesperson for Distinguished Young Women (DYW). My year and half as a DYW representative required me to have numerous speaking engagements: some of which were to emphasize the benefits of the program to potential supporters, in the hopes of inviting new donors to the program, others included hosting leadership seminars for young children, to instill the concept that with determination and hard work they can achieve anything. 

As time progressed, I grew so passionate about the DYW program and what it stands for that every time I publicly spoke, it felt natural and meaningful. However, I recognize that when I am not as familiar with or passionate about a topic, my speaking tends to seem much less natural. My discomfort is clear through my forced hand gestures and my lack of conversational tone while speaking. In order to combat this and become a better public speaker, I need to practice enough to achieve the same level of comfort I have while discussing the DYW program. Once I have done so, my words will be able to flow freely and my audience can better sense my passion for the topic.