For the fifth year in a row, a student from Echuca College has experienced success at the local Lion’s Youth of the Year awards where qualities such as leadership, personality and public speaking are highly prized alongside academic attainment. Kiara Dean clearly exceeded expectations as she was not only successful in the public speaking component but also won the overall Youth of the Year category. Kiara was asked to speak in front of a panel about issues affecting the youth of Australia and what she would change if she had the chance. She spoke about the proliferation of mobile phones and social media amongst the youth of today and how these often created barriers to learning. Kiara also presented a prepared speech of 5 minutes in which she spoke about her sporting achievements and how this has helped her be a successful, well-rounded person. She joins the ranks of previous winners from Echuca College including Georgia Harris, Luke Judd, Kelly Gould and Hannah Ayres. The college congratulates Kiara and wishes her well for the next stage of the competition, which is the zone finals to be held at Lockington on Sunday 3 March.