Harriet Takes 3rd Place at the inaugural Dame Enid Lyons
When Harriet Hahn (Year 11) agreed to be the MLC School contestant in a new public speaking competition for Senior girls she did not expect the new places it would take her. The inaugural Dame Enid Lyons impromptu public speaking competition was set up to match the similar boy’s competition, The Lawrence Campbell, which has been running for ninety years. So, it was past time to have an event where the voices of young women were heard. From a starting group of 26 students from schools all over Sydney, Harriet won though to the final as one of ten contestants.
On Wednesday, I accompanied Harriet to Admiralty House in Kirribilli to meet Her Excellency Sam Mostyn, the Governor General of Australia, an invitation extended to all ten finalists to congratulate them on their achievement. The Governor General was so generous with her time and offered inspirational advice to a group of young women yet to start their future careers. As a group we heard first-hand how the process for chosing the Governor General, what it takes to do the job and what have been her best experiences after a year in the job. We also met and heard from the group of accomplished young women who are the Governor General’s staff, their stories were aspirational for a group of transfixed Senior school students. Harriet was amazed when the Governor General informed her that her own daughter Charlotte was an MLC School Old Girl.
As if the morning’s event was not enough excitement, it was off to the Opera House for the final in the evening. It was a nervous but energised group of coaches, parents, family, friends, fellow students and our Principal Lisa Moloney who gathered in the Drama Theatre for the event. Finalists were given three quotes as prompts and then had 15 minutes in a room alone with only palm cards and a pen to prepare an eight minute speech to present to the audience. This is one of the most difficult forms of public speaking and Harriet gave a great speech about the challenges of schools trying to transition from single sex to co-education. The three judges took a long time to decide the winner finding it difficult to split the top three speeches. In the end Harriet took out 3rd place!
Thank you, Harriet, for all the extra time you have put in doing special training for the event and for representing our School with such grace and talent. Congratulations!
– Andrea Rowe
Oratory Coordinator
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