"And the second place winner is..." My heart began pounding when I didn't hear a familiar name. I knew that meant she had either placed first or had not placed at all.
The group of 6th graders beside me let out a tremendous scream. She had won! My Project Achievement mentee had won first place in her division. She marched to the front of the gymnasium filled with cheering students. As she proudly posed for a picture with her new award, I reminisced back to a time when I had won a speech competition years ago. Retracing my steps from that day to the present, I realized just how much that award gave me: courage against the unknown, confidence in my abilities, an interest in a new career path, a determination to reach my full potential. I was so thankful that I had the opportunity to assist with passing these attributes on to the young girl who was now prancing back to her seat with a gold medal dangling from her neck.
Before finding her seat, she turned to me and smiled, "Thanks for helping me!" As her PAL (Project Achievement Leader), I had been helping this 4-H'er with her speech for the past two weeks. After spending hours editing her speech, helping her memorize the content, and providing her with public speaking tips, we had really gotten to know one another. We had laughed, grown tired, learned, and now celebrated together. Win or lose, I had already decided that this had been a wonderful experience.
Her new found confidence was radiating as she sat down beside me. She had a reason to be proud of her accomplishments! Writing and memorizing a four minute speech can be a daunting task for adults, and she had now conquered it before even entering high school. I was proud too. I was proud of her and I was proud to be a part of 4-H.
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