Tamika Heaphy's thoughts on health and prosperity helped her to secure a place in a national final.

On Saturday, the Fifth Year student from Killarney Community College, earned herself a place in the national final of the Soroptimist International Girl’s Public Speaking Competition in Cork.

Soroptimist International is a global volunteer movement working together to transform the lives of women and girls with nearly 72,000 members in 121 countries. In Ireland, there are 15 clubs that work at a local, national and international level to educate, empower and enable women and girls to reach their potential.

The Soroptimist Ireland Girls’ Public Speaking Competition has been running for over 40 years. The competition is a three-stage event with local and regional competitions leading to a national final.

The competition encourages girls to develop the skills to speak effectively and articulately with clarity and conviction. This enables them to improve their self-confidence and personality which in turn will enhance their career opportunities.

“This has been an amazing experience, public speaking skills are so important," teacher Tara O’Shea said.

"We have always encouraged our students to enter public speaking competitions. As a result of this, our students are well versed and have very strong opinions on many global and social issues so this was the perfect opportunity for students like Tamika to showcase her talents at a national level."

The regional final showcased an array of wonderful speakers who spoke on a variety of topics such as democracy, health, people, human rights, environment and peace. Tamika chose to speak about the topic of health and prosperity where she wowed the adjudicators with her eloquent speech and her fantastic public speaking skills. She competed against five other students and secured first place and an opportunity to compete in the national final.

Teresa Irwin and Sheila Casey from Soroptimist Ireland Killarney added that they "are so proud" of Tamika.

"Her ability to deliver her speech was engaging and educational. It has been great to see a local girl get so far in the competition and to be given an opportunity that empowers women and girls to use their voices and showcase their skills."

The national final will be held in Wexford on March 4 where Tamika will be up against seven other speakers from around Ireland.

If successful she will be invited to speak at the International Conference which will be held in the conference centre in Dublin this year.

"‘This has been a wonderful opportunity for the students in our school," Deputy Principal Eilish O’Leary said.
"The mission of the Soroptimists is to transform the lives and status of women and girls through education, empowerment and enabling opportunities. This competition has already provided Tamika with excellent opportunities to work towards her future career. We wish her all the best in the national final in March."