Gaston headed to state DYW

SUBMITTED

The Distinguished Young Woman of Alabama will be named Saturday, Jan. 21 during the statewide scholarship competition final to be held in Montgomery at Frazer United Methodist Church.

High School senior girls from across Alabama will join together for the 60th Distinguished Young Women of Alabama program to be held Jan. 20 and 21. The girls will arrive in Montgomery on Jan. 13 and will stay with Host Families around the Montgomery River Region. While here, they will be visiting various groups and community venues all while preparing for the program. Participants will compete for $42,200 in cash scholarships and over $2 million in college granted scholarships and the opportunity to represent the state as the Distinguished Young Woman of Alabama for 2017.

The 49 young women competing will be evaluated by a panel of five judges in the following categories:  Scholastics (25%), Interview (25%), Fitness (15%), Self-Expression (15%), and Talent (20%).  The participant selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Alabama will advance to the national level at the 60th Distinguished Young Women National Finals in Mobile which will be held from June 29 – July 1, where she will join with 49 other state representatives in competing for cash scholarships and the opportunity to represent the program as the Distinguished Young Woman of America.

Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Alabama, Distinguished Young Women is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls. During its 59 years of operation, the program has provided life-changing experiences for more than 745,000 young women. Last year, Distinguished Young Women provided more than $1.1 billion in cash and college scholarship opportunities to program participants at the local, state and national level. Previously known as America’s Junior Miss, the program announced its new name in June 2010.

The mission of Distinguished Young Women is to positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent.

For more information on Distinguished Young Women of Alabama or tickets, please contact Committee Chair, Carna Triftshauser at 334-538-4451 or alabama@distinguishedyw.org.