By CATRIONA STEWART

SCHOOLGIRL Mila Stricevic is set to be the most starstruck teenager in Glasgow as she meets Barack Obama.

Mila, who will be joined by her twin sister Anna, won a competition to read a self-penned poem to Mr Obama tonight at Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

And when news of the 13-year-old’s success her mum was left screaming with pride.

Hyndland Secondary pupil Mila said: “I’m very excited but overwhelmed because I’ve never experienced anything like this before.

“I didn’t expect to win the competition.

“My sister Anna, did illustrations to go with the poem but they got ruined in the rain and we only managed to submit the poem on the competition’s closing day.

“My mum screamed when I told her my poem had won.”

Mila, whose parents, Rachel and Milorad, are delighted their daughters are attending the high powered event, won a schools competition run by the Hunter Foundation.

She was told of the success of her poem, If I Ruled Scotland, in a phone call from Sir Tom Hunter.

Now she, Anna and eight of her school friends will attend tonight’s prestigious seminar and banquet where the former US president will give a key note speech.

Mila, who is interested in social justice and plans to work for Amnesty International when she is older, is a huge fan of Mr Obama.

She added: “I was really shocked when I found out [my poem] had won and I’m really nervous about reading it in front of Mr Obama.

“He is really inspirational, everything he did was with done with integrity.

“Plus he was the first Black president of the United States.”

Mila entered the schools competition with support from her English teacher Mandy McGuire after her mum, Rachel, spotted it advertised in a newspaper.

Mrs McGuire said: “We are so thrilled for Mila and for the other children who are going.

“It is the opportunity of a lifetime.

“It has all been a bit of a whirlwind but everyone is very excited.”

Mila received a phone call from Sir Tom Hunter after finding out she had won an audience with one of the most influential men in the world.

The teenager said: “I didn’t expect to speak to Sir Tom personally but he said he filled up when he read my poem.

“It was really nice.”

I Read the full text of Mila’s poem:

If I Ruled Scotland

By Mila Stricevic, aged 13 of Hyndland Secondary School

If I ruled Scotland here is what I would do

I’d make everything equal for me and you

I’d educate Scotland on hope and peace

And make the minorities feel at ease

If I ruled Scotland here’s a law I would pass

When the sun shone no kids were in class

Instead we’d play Rounders or read in the shade

(after all it’s unlikely to last more than one day!)

If I ruled Scotland here’s what I would do

I’d keep the night safe from crime and misuse

I’d treat prisoners like humans – guide them back to a life

Filled with prosper and respect, doesn’t that sound nice?

If I ruled Scotland here’s some stuff I would ban

Like Mars Bars deep fried or those pies in cans

But don’t fret, even though it has a strange hue

I would never get rid of our loved Irn Bru!

If I ruled Scotland here’s what I’d do

I’d save all the dying accents so people knew

That in Scotland there is more than one type of man

We celebrate our differences as best as we can

If I ruled Scotland here’s what I would teach

That’s football’s no place for hate to be preached

That supporting a team shouldn’t dictate

Which people we like and which people we hate

If I ruled Scotland I’d invest in our schools

To ensure rich or poor, our kids had all the tools

To puruse their own dream, regardless of class

And make Scotland a nation where no one comes last

If I ruled Scotland here’s something I’d try

We’d fund our NHS, to keep it alive

Then when people get sick, no matter how deep their pockets

We’d always have medicine on hand to stop it

If I ruled Scotland I wouldn’t allow

Any racism nonsense to interfere with my vow

That no matter the colour or tone of your skin

We’re all Jock Tamson’s bairns and that means we’re all kin.