Winner Hannah Lennon flanked by runners-up Dusty Kelly-Chirgwin and Devlin-James Clarke alongside NSW MPs (from left) Ben Franklin, Helen Dalton and Rod Roberts. Photo: Supplied.
Hannah Lennon wants to be a lawyer. Or a dentist. Or join the army.
The Year 12 student from St Paul’s College in the tiny town of Walla Walla urged her peers to try different things and not fear failure in a talk that saw her win a NSW Parliament regional public-speaking competition in Griffith last week.
“My topic was ‘You miss 100 per cent of the shots you don’t take’,” Ms Lennon said.
“I talked about how leaving high school is a daunting experience and how we need to change our mindset – instead of picking one career, let’s look at the opportunities that present themselves to us and take them all.
“Everyone is picking these degrees and careers and feel they need to be locked into the one option, but you don’t … I’ll be doing a gap year in the army next year to gain a variety of experiences.”
Ms Lennon, 18, was shocked when she was announced the winner of the competition, as she’d barely spoken publicly since she was in primary school.
“I don’t like public speaking, I get nervous. But the whole point of my speech was pushing yourself to do things you don’t like doing and take opportunities that are in front of you,” she said.
“I’d like to thank my teacher Kara Robinson. I didn’t even know the speaking competition was on but she urged me to enter.”
Amelia Frazer called for more support for veterans. Photo: Oliver Jacques.
The NSW Parliament is doing a tour of regional areas throughout 2025 “to amplify the voices and showcase the leadership of young people in regional communities”.
Griffith was chosen as one of six towns to host a special outreach roadshow, in which 14 students were given the opportunity to showcase their public-speaking skills at the Regional Theatre.
Ms Lennon was chosen as the winner, meaning she will now travel to the NSW Parliament in Sydney in December to represent her region in the state finals.
There were two runner-ups – Devlin-James Clarke of Hay War Memorial High School, who spoke on the topic ”The Algorithm”, and Dusty Kelly-Chirgwin of Coleambally Central School, who chose the topic ”Do not go gentle into that good night”.
Amelia Frazer from Corowa Public gave the event’s first speech, which was on the need to support veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“I hope people learn what PTSD is and what causes it. A lot of people still don’t recognise it as a disorder … we should have more treatment centres where they can go to get help,” she said.
Olivia Richards from Albury’s James Fallon High spoke about social media’s negative impact on young people.
“Social media can give unrealistic standards on how you should be, by showing bodies that might not be real … you can also see people get personally targeted,” she said.
President of the NSW Parliament Legislative Council, Ben Franklin, said the Regional Roadshows presented a fantastic opportunity to engage youth across regional NSW in shaping the future of the state.
“Investing in our regional youth is investing in the future of our democracy in New South Wales,” Mr Franklin said.
”Our Regional Roadshows will empower tomorrow’s leaders by providing the platforms and networks they need to advocate for their communities.”
Murray MP Helen Dalton said it was a great opportunity for students in the area to showcase their voices and empower young people in the bush to have their ideas heard.
The NSW Parliament’s 2025 Regional Roadshow has already travelled to Grafton, Queanbeyan and Tamworth. The next stops are Cessnock and Orange.
