My first address as school captain would begin with admitting that I am quite nervous because, although I have had numerous years of experience representing my school in interschool debating and public speaking, giving speeches can sometimes still prove to be stressful, however I believe that, as school captain, I would be able to tackle this problem and utilise the opportunity of speaking in front of large audiences to better develop my oral skills for the future.I would continue my speech by telling an anecdote of a time in which I overcame a problem and in turn grew as a person; namely my experiences completing the Year 10 maths exam.
I am not a very “maths-y” person, and I had consistently been getting E’s in my maths tests throughout Year 10. My lowest point was getting a UG for my test on quadratics. I was so close to giving up in maths, because I found it so difficult and I believed that there was no way I would ever get a mark that I could be proud of. The day of my maths exam comes, and I do try my best in it. Although I acknowledged, coming out of the exam, that I probably wouldn’t get an A+, I was happy because I persevered through the exam and answered as many questions as I could. I got my exam back from my maths teacher, and I got… a D. Although it might have been lower than what my parents had hoped I would get, and although it might not have been the best result in the class, I was proud of the fact that I had not given up, and I had improved myself. By telling this story, I would hope that many students in the audience can empathise with me, and can see how its important to always strive for self-improvement.
I would also hope that by telling this story, other students that might not know me very well would be able to see me as a real person, and may be more willing to come to talk to me or speak to me, which I think is important as school captain.
