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COVER STORY

Meet Natalia Kukushkina, SR2, West Beaverton Toastmasters, District 7's 2022-23
International Speech Champion. Her powerful speech, Russians, won the hearts of the
judges with its emotional and timely message. She is competing for a regional spot on her

way to the finals at the Toastmasters International Convention in the Bahamas this August.

Please share your background gymnastics, acting and music. I attended music
Originally, I am from Russia and was born school for 8 years playing cello, piano, and I sang
and raised in the town named Norilsk located as in a choir. After my graduation from music school,

far in the North as you can imagine. Far North is I sang in a girl band with my friends (a lot like
really an amazing place: I saw polar lights, polar The Andrews Sisters trio).
night, and polar day, extremely low temperatures, When I turned 17, I moved to the city of Nizhny
the original house of Chuckchi (one of the native Novgorod (it is about a four hour drive from

tribes in the north), and the most unique thing Moscow) to study Mathematics and Computer
- the first Sun appearance after 6 months of the Science at the State University. The education I
polar night. received changed the way I thought, perceived
As a child I had many interests: ice skating, information and, most importantly, it taught me

6 ONE COMMUNITY