It was just a year ago that Sarah Lynn Bowser competed in her first speech contest.

She won the Exchange Club of Effingham County’s American citizenship speech contest last April, and has kept right on winning since.

Now, the South Effingham High School senior is one step away from competing in a national speech contest.

Bowser took first place in the National Management Association’s Peach Council leadership speech contest in Aiken, S.C., on March 22. She competed against students from Georgia and South Carolina, after winning the local speech contest at Armstrong Atlantic State University in February.

Bowser advances to the NMA eastern regional contest on June 7 in Greenville, S.C. Four regional winners will compete for the top prize at the NMA’s annual conference in September in Miami.

Bowser’s speech focused on her father’s leadership and military service as a continuation of the dream started almost 250 years ago in the American Revolution. Bowser said the soldier of today, like her father, “sacrifices his life for America’s future, just as the founding fathers once sacrificed theirs.”

“I’m talking about something I care about and something I really connect with,” she explained.

Bowser plans to attend the University of Georgia and become a veterinarian. Participating in speech contests helps her build the communication and networking skills she will need in her career, Bowser said.

And, she added, “It’s just really fun.”