As a freshman, I participated in a university speech competition where teams presented on the theme of "Christmas" in English, Chinese, or Japanese. Despite being a Christian Education major among students proficient in languages like English and East Asian Logistics, I partnered with a senior from the English Language and Literature department, who was also in the same club, and together, we won first place.
Our topic was the "Christmas Truce" during World War I. I took the lead in researching the topic, writing the script, and creating the presentation slides. My senior provided valuable feedback on areas of the script that felt unnatural and helped correct my English pronunciation. For the week leading up to the competition, we practiced together in our club room for an hour each day, and when we couldn’t meet in person, we each practiced for two hours at home.
Thanks to our rigorous preparation, we were able to present confidently on the day of the competition, and out of the eight teams that presented in English, we won first place.