Marengo County’s Distinguished Young Women Program is all about Scholarships!

It’s that time of year again! On Saturday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Demopolis High School Theater, a panel of five judges will be selecting a new Marengo County Distinguished Young Woman out of nine contestants. This will be a chance for Marengo’s finest Sr. High ladies to compete for scholarship money to go toward tuition at their college of choice. Last year’s winner, Madison Davidson,  received $2,800 in scholarships with $8,350 being spread out over all the placing and winning contestants.
These nine ladies will compete on much more than their beauty alone. You have to be well rounded in all categories to win.
“This is not a beauty pageant, this is a scholarship program” said Katie Windham, the chairman for the Marengo County Distinguished Young Women’s program.”The girls’ transcripts along with any test scores from their ACTs and more for their sophomore through their current senior year have already been sent to Susan Spartman from UWA to be judged in the scholastic division of the competition. This year we hope to provide over $8,000 in scholarship money to the placing and winning contestants. We are still accepting any donations to our scholarship goal and all anyone has to do is contact me.”
Katie Windham can be reached at 334-341-2638 for any scholarship donations.
Along with competing on the scholastic level which contributes to 20 percent of their score, the ladies also compete in Talent 25 percent, Interview 25 percent, Fitness 15 percent and Self Expression, where they answer a question on stage, which will make up the final 15 percent.
Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Distinguished Young Women is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls.
It has provided life-changing experiences for more than 700,000 young women across the country and more than $93 million in cash scholarships at the local, state and national levels. In addition to cash scholarships, Distinguished Young Women participants are eligible for college-granted scholarships from almost 200 colleges and universities. More than $108 million in college scholarship opportunities were provided last year, some of which included full tuition, room and board to first-class institutions.
Many participants leave the program with scholarships to help them with their college educations, but all of them walk away with friendships, life skills and increased self-confidence. Distinguished Young Women strives to give every young woman the opportunity to further her education and prepare for a successful future.
The following Sr. High girls will be competing in less than 2 weeks.
Contestant No. 1 is Nolie Ramsey from Thomasville High School. She will be performing “Butterflies and Hurricanes” on the piano. She plans to attend The University of Alabama and become a surgeon.
Contestant No. 2 is Hope Moore from Demopolis High School. She will be singing “That’s Life.” Hope plans to attend South Alabama and become a Radiologist.
Contestant No. 3 is Taylor Barley from Marengo Academy. She will be dancing to the Broadway hit “Hairspray.” Barley plans to attend Shelton State Community College and become a Pediatric Nurse.
Contestant No. 4 is Sutton Aiken from Demopolis High School. Sutton will be singing “Show Off.” She plans on attending The University of Alabama and become a Registered Dietitian with a minor in Business.
Contestant No. 5 is Rachel Gavin from Clark Prep. She will doing a gymnastics routine to “He’s a Pirate.” Gavin plans to attend The University of Alabama and earn a degree in Early Childhood Education.
Contestant No. 6 is Shannon Pittman from Demopolis High School. She will be singing “Joyful, Joyful.” Shannon plans on attending South Alabama, majoring in Forensic Science with a minor in Theater.
Contestant No. 7 is Alexis Jones from Demopolis High School. Alexis will be performing “Rolling in the Deep” on her saxophone. She plans to attend The University of Alabama to become a Chemical Engineer.
Contestant No. 8 is Sommer Horshock from Demopolis High School. She will be doing a musical theater performance of “Adelaide’s Lament.” She plans on attending Auburn University or Troy University to become a Psychiatrist or Nurse Anesthetist.
Contestant No. 9 is Victoria Washburn from Demopolis High School. She will be performing a jazz dance to “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.” Victoria plans to attend The University of Alabama and become a Physical Therapist.
Even though they are all beautiful young ladies, it will be their brains, talent and a little brawn that will determine the winner of this year’s Distinguished Young Woman for Marengo County.
Come next Saturday night and show your support, tickets will be sold at the door, $5 for children and $10 for adult admission. And don’t forget, you can call Katie and set up a donation to go toward this year’s Distinguished Young Woman of Marengo County.