Ascension Episcopal School in Lafayette is now the home of one of the state's top student orators.
Seventh grader Natalya Grant won gold at this year's Louisiana Association of Student Councils State Convention in Covington.
Grant says oratory, or giving a speech, was a perfect fit for her.
"I've always liked to write things and talk about them. The topic was 'How Leadership Comes Alive in My School' and I thought that was something I could write about," she said.
Facing ten other middle-schoolers, there was a moment of trouble when Natalya presented her speech to the judges. She forgot a line.
But she said some quick thinking helped her push through.
"If you forgot a sentence, you just skip over it and you just go to the next one," she said. "So if you mess up or you add a sentence that wasn't there, they'll never know. You just have to make it sound like it was meant to be there."
There was tough competition but, when it came time for the judges to make their decision, the choice was clear.
Natalya claimed the first prize.
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