YEC The Connection 2023
YEC The Connection 2023
What I remember first is the pressure before the event actually began. By the time people saw the lights, the speaker, and the crowd, most of the real work had already happened backstage. I had prepared the event with Van Anh, and that part matters to the memory as much as the public side of it. Shared preparation changes the weight of a moment. You are not just showing up. You are carrying something together.
Hana Lexis was the speaker, and the event drew more than five hundred people. That scale still matters in my memory because it made the room feel bigger than the usual student event. When I gave the opening speech, I could feel that difference immediately. It was one of those moments where leadership stopped being a title and became a physical experience. My voice had to hold the room. My posture had to settle my nerves before anyone else could feel settled.
At that point in my life, I was still growing into public speaking rather than feeling fully natural inside it. That is part of why the event stayed with me. It was not a polished victory lap. It was a moment of stepping forward while still carrying nerves and responsibility at the same time.
What it changed in me was simple. It made me trust that I could stand in front of a large room and speak without hiding behind preparation alone. It also made me respect how much invisible work sits underneath a clean public moment. That event belongs directly to Public Speaking, but it also belongs to the part of my life where I was learning how leadership actually feels when real people are waiting for you to begin.