The 2024 Distinguished Young Women of DeKalb County Scholarship Program will be held this Saturday, August 5, 2023, at the NACC Lyceum. The program will start at 5 pm, and the doors will open at 4:30 pm. Seven of the brightest, multi-talented high school senior girls compete for college scholarships this year. These young ladies have worked very hard over the past few weeks to prepare for the competition this Saturday. All the participants are high school seniors who attend one of the schools within DeKalb County or Fort Payne City School, and this year’s winner will go on to represent DeKalb County at the Distinguished Young Women of Alabama program in Montgomery, Alabama, in January 2024. This year’s contestants are from Fort Payne High School, Sylvania High School, and Ider High School. They are Danali Richardson – Fort Payne High School, Marissa Fairley – Fort Payne High School, Lizzie Kate Black – Fort Payne High School, Emma Campbell Crawford – Fort Payne High School, Karalina Mann – Ider High School, Anna Beth McSpadden – Sylvania High School, and Lillie Freeman – Fort Payne High School.
Distinguished Young Women is a scholarship program that promotes education and excellence in all areas of life. It encourages young women to be confident in who they are, strive to reach their goals, and become successful leaders in their communities. Originally called America’s Junior Miss, Distinguished Young Women was created to meet the need for higher education scholarships for young women.
While continuing to address the need for scholarships, Distinguished Young Women also saw an opportunity to help prepare young women for success in life after high school. Many skills that help individuals succeed—how to conduct a business interview, believing that your opinions are worthy of recognition and how to speak confidently and effectively convey your thoughts—are not taught in school. Our Life Skills Workshops begin this education. Plus, to ensure the greatest impact possible, participation in our program is always free, allowing young women of all backgrounds to reap the benefits of participation.
Distinguished Young Women is proud to be the nation’s oldest and largest scholarship program for college-bound high school senior girls. Since 1958, the program has awarded more than $120 million in cash scholarships at local, state, and national programs. In addition to cash scholarships, Distinguished Young Women participants are eligible for college-granted scholarships from over 100 colleges and universities across the country. Over $1 billion in college scholarship opportunities were provided to the Class of 2023, some of which included full tuition plus room and board. Many participants leave the program with scholarships, but all walk away from the experience with life skills to help them interview for jobs and develop for their future.
The participants will compete for scholarships in the following areas: Scholastics, Talent, Interviews, Fitness, and Self-Expression. The 2023 Distinguished Young Women of DeKalb County was Talula Belle Scott from Fort Payne High School. Good luck to all the contestants.