And here is what I did to edit it, Hope thats ok, just to show you-
We adj contrast/brightness. on the photo overall, and upped the exposure just a little bit ( not sure if thats ok for your contest Hope it is) and then selected the eyes and upped the brightness/contrast there) thats it!
Also- cant say I like because of the bulge on her armpit from the angle shes sitting and her head looks like its tilted a little much. but thats just my opinion. LOL
Here is my little attempt at an edit. Edited in Aperture 3 and Photoshop CS4. I did go slightly outside of the rules though and used a Bokeh filter for the DOF.