Distinguished Young Women accepting applicants

The Distinguished Young Women Program of Jefferson County is accepting applications from high school girls graduating in 2015 and residing in Jefferson County. The deadline for receiving applications is March 10.

The program, formerly Jefferson County’s Junior Miss, will take place on July 18 and 19 at Samford University. 

Last year more than $13,000 in cash-tuition scholarships was awarded, and more than $489,000 in college-granted scholarships. Any participant in the program may qualify for a full tuition and a full tuition, room and board scholarship with a qualifying GPA and test score.

There is no entry fee. Participants compete in the categories of Fitness, Self Expression, Interview, Scholastics and Talent. 

The Jefferson County representative will advance to the Distinguished Young Women Program of Alabama in Montgomery, where she will compete for more than $40,000 in cash-tuition scholarships and more than $1,000,000 in college scholarships. The current Distinguished Young Woman of Jefferson County is Sarah Grace McDuff, a senior at Homewood High School.

State winners will compete for Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2015 and for a share of more than $125,000 in cash scholarships. 

Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Distinguished Young Women is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls.  During its 55 years of operation, the program has provided experiences for more than 700,000 young women and has awarded more than $93 million in cash scholarships to young women across the nation.

Interested girls may visit DistinguishedYW.org and click on the “Participate” icon to receive an application, or they may contact Chairman Eddie Macksoud at jefferson@distinguishedYW.org or 907-0210.