14 November 2018

Avila College, Mount Waverley, student, Milagros Vargas, participated in the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Award program where she was runner-up in the Victorian State Final, later progressing to the National Final held in Sydney, New South Wales.

Students competing were asked to prepare a five-minute speech on a topic of their choosing, relating to the ideals of voluntary service, social justice, caring, personal effort, personal sacrifice and/or mateship, and present in front of a panel of judges.

Over 480 students competed across Victoria where only 12 were selected to take part in the state final. Milagros was one of the two Victorian students invited to participate at a national level.

The theme of her speech was ‘self-sacrifice being the core value of mateship’, where she particularly focused on the life and service of Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop.