SPEAKING OUT

Francesca Murnan is most happy when she’s busy — so she’s a very happy young woman.
The Pittsburg High School senior, daughter of Robert and Monica Murnan, has received awards for her volunteer service, and has also qualified for the National Forensics League national tournament.
“I qualified in an event called original oration, which requires you to do a 10-minute persuasive speech,” Murnan said.
She explained that her oration deals with the vaccine that protects against the human papilloma virus, or HPV, the leading cause of cervical cancer, a big killer around the world.
“I try to do away with some of the misconceptions about this vaccine,” Murnan said. “It’s not about sex — it’s about cancer.”
She qualified for the national competition by placing first at district. “My original plan was to go to Seattle to look at Seattle University instead of going to district competition,” Murnan said. “But I ended up going to Seattle later.”
She said there were some very good speakers at the district level, and in Las Vegas she’ll be competing against 400 other students in original oration. “I’ve never competed at nationals before, but I’ll give it a try,” she said.
Murnan works as a child care provider and receptionist at the Family Resource Center, and also volunteers at the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas. “I do some filing for them,” she said.
She is Student Government president and Key Club president. “I and some friends started the Green Society this year, and we planted some things outside with the children,” Murnan said. “We run the recycling program at PHS, and do a lot of environmental education.”
She has been recognized with a certificate of excellence by judges in the 2008 Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. This means that her volunteer activities have been judged to be among the top 10 percent of all those considered in Kansas this year.
The number of volunteer hours she has served also earned her the President’s Volunteer Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
Murnan plans to attend Seattle University. “I loved Seattle when I visited there,” she said. “My major will be international relations, and I’ll possibly minor in Spanish or non-profit leadership. Then I might join the Peace Corps, because service has been the focus of my life so far.”