Grade 11 student, Cassidy Read, will be going on the trip of a lifetime thanks to her public speaking skills.

She placed first at a public speaking competition a couple of weeks ago at 4-H on Parade in Calgary.

Her 4-H club, Okotoks Outriders, nominated her to be choosen to speak at the competion. Read says, she had to go through a selection process just to be able to participate.

"Our general overriding topic to speak on was 4-H inspiring the global community, and there was a lot of different aspects people went into. I talked about how 4-H is developing in countries like Gona and Nepal, and how food production is helping there."

Read adds the competition was different from any other 4-H public speaking event she has been involved in, because they judged and watched participants the whole weekend.

Winning the competition means she will be attending the 4-H Global Network Summit held in Ottawa, July 11-14. The summit involves 630 4-H members from 70 countries across the world.

The conference is a place where 4-H members come together to get inspired about the program and plan for the future.

Joining Read in Ottawa, is second place winner Mia Ingraham, from the Arrowwood River Wranglers 4-H Club.