MAHALIA Musuka got a bit of a shock last week when her teacher told her she’d be speaking at a debating competition – the next day. And she was even more “gobsmacked” when she won.
The Marino College student, who took home the Nelson Mandela Cup after winning a VEC-sponsored debating competition for international students, told Metro Éireann: “I am actually honestly astonished.
“I only found out about the competition yesterday when my teacher told me ‘We just entered you into a public speaking competition’ and I was like ‘Oh my God, what am I going to say?’ and I just went home and wrote a speech.”
She continued: “But when the man announced my name I was honestly gobsmacked, honestly to win, gobsmacked and excited at the same time.”
The South Africa, who competed against 13 other entrants, got inspiration for her debate speech on integration from her love of poetry, politics and human rights figures such as Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. She was also inspired by a Metro Éireann article she had once read, added Mahalia.
– Louise Browne
