By Michael Hudson Jr., Grade 12, Benjamin Banneker High School, Washington, DC

One World Education is a non-profit organization that helps middle and high school students with their writing skills, focusing them on writing about salient global and political issues. My experience working with them is something I will never forget and something that I’m very thankful for.  I was a part of their first senior writing fair held on February 12, 2015 at MLK Library in Washington, DC.

Our topic was college and career awareness and I focused on the benefits of community college. In preparation for the writing fair, students met every Tuesday  for six weeks working on presenting our topic in the form of a 30-second elevator pitch, four-minute speech, and one science fair board. Working with OWEd, I greatly developed my writing and public speaking skills.

I learned fundamental elements of public speaking during these sessions. Every public speaker needs to have a strong hook and it can be in the form of a question, story, or data point. Not only that, but composure and poise is essential when you’re speaking in front of people. Lastly, preparation is the foundation for any speech. If you haven’t put in enough research on your topic, how can you truly be confident in what you’re saying? Your preparation is the key to your confidence, swag, and charisma in anything you’re doing, but especially public speaking.

OWEd worked extremely hard with us in making sure we were ready for the fair. They met with us as frequently as possible. During our sessions, there were so many qualified and reputable adults who were giving us advice on our presentations. They even had judges who were going to be at the fair working with us beforehand making sure that we were prepared.

When the evening of the fair arrived, I was nervous but ready. For weeks I had honed the research on my topic, making sure every facet of my presentation was solid. When my name was called to give my speech, my nervousness was at its peak. However, once I began presenting, that nervousness transformed into confidence, and the more I spoke, the more at ease I felt.

I felt so great after the fair. OWEd really taught me a great deal, and I’m very thankful that I was a part of this program.