At the same time, it felt like betraying my natural self by stepping into a role that felt foreign,

I can totally relate with this. This phobia for public speaking has been stuck with me for as long as I can remember.
I've had numerous situations where I've been called out to be a presenter in school events and every single time, it felt like a nightmare.

Some days I'm lucky to dodge it and other days I'm not, stuttering and fidgeting all the way.

I'm more than glad you were able to stand up to yours, head on and conquered thereby making all who believed in you quite proud and equally stepping out of that phase, on your part ❤️.