Crestwood High student places second in national public speaking competition

Crestwood High School’s Himaja Dave is holding her head high after she took out second place at the Plain English Speaking Award national final.

Himaja Dave had been rehearsing her address with Crestwood High School head English teacher Justine Clarke in between breaks. Picture: Angelo Velardo

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For some HSC students extra-curricular activities can be an unwanted distraction.

For Himaja Dave, it is a distraction that has helped her excel on to the national stage, and given her an opportunity to speak about issues she thinks matters most.

After claiming top place in the state final Plain English Speaking Award the Crestwood High School student recently returned from Brisbane where she placed second in the national final.

As part of the national competition, Himaja had to deliver a prepared 8-minute speech and another 3-minute impromptu speech where she was judged on the matter, manner and method of her presentation.

She said her passion for public speaking comes from a sense of privilege knowing she has the ability to tell people about important issues affecting society.

“My speech in particular is about a form of sexual discrimination — an issue that affects everyone but is so often left unspoken,” she said.

Himaja Dave said doing public speaking has helped her become a more dynamic and well-rounded critical thinker. Picture: Angelo Velardo

In preparing for the competition Himaja rehearsed with the school’s head English teacher, Justine Clarke, before further refining her delivery for another hour at home everyday.

“I always get nervous … but what I always try to remember is that I’ve probably already met people in the audience before, or smiled at them when I walked in, and that they’re the same people and are all human beings too,” she said.

Ms Clarke said seeing Himaja develop into a stronger speaker has made her proud.

“She’s worked so hard to get this far so we’re all very proud of her, and the school is over the moon about it,” she said.

Though Himaja did not take home the trophy, she still considers herself a winner.

“If one person changed their mind about my issue, that’s more than enough for me … at the state final, a boy came up to me to say he never though about my issue that way and if just one person feels I’ve either helped them deal with something they thought they were fighting alone, or helped them realise something they didn’t know was a problem, then that’s the winning thing for me,” she said.

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