Representing the Lions Club of Bathurst, Peters prevailed over a competitive field of the state's brightest youth citizens, and will return to Canberra on May 10 to represent NSW at the Lions Youth of the Year national final.

READ MORE: Zoe Peters to contest Lions Youth of the Year Quest state final in Canberra

"I'm very proud to have won this award, but it was just as much of an honour to meet so many young people from across NSW with a shared interest in positive citizenship," she said.

The Youth of the Year Quest has been run by Lions Clubs all over Australia since 1980, and requires contestants to have a 30-40 minute interview with independent judges and present two impromptu speeches and a prepared speech of the contestant's choice.

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For the state final, Peters said she was tasked with presenting impromptu speeches on sportspeople as role models and gender quotas in the workplace.

"Whenever I deliver a speech, I always try to get across my own informed opinions on a certain topic as opposed to the general consensus," she said.

"It's always a challenge to deliver something on the spot, but the great thing about Lions Youth of the Year is it encourages you to digest societal issues you may never be exposed to in everyday life."

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Lions Club of Bathurst member Judy Chircop said the club is immensely proud of Zoe's achievement.

"This is really exciting for our club as it has been many years since a representative from our district has achieved this level of success," Ms Chircop said.

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