CONTRIBUTED BY
DYW LEE COUNTY
LEE COUNTY —
The Distinguished Young Women of Lee County Program will be held on Saturday, June 24, at 4 p.m., at the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts.
Tickets are $10 at the door or can be pre-ordered at myevent.com/dywleeco.
Sixteen rising high school seniors from across the county will participate in the program and compete for thousands of dollars in college scholarships. Additionally, the winner will have the opportunity to represent Lee County at the Alabama Distinguished Young Women Program in January 2024. The 2023 Lee County Distinguished Young Woman, Keely Rider, was named a top eight finalist and scholastics award winner at the state program earlier this year.
The young women competing will be evaluated by a panel of judges in the following categories: scholastics (25%), interview (25%), talent (20%), fitness (15%) and self-expression (15%).
The following are this year’s participants:
• Paige Bales of Opelika High School
• Jillian Breland of Auburn High School
• Brantley Clegg of Auburn High School
• Cate Herring of Auburn High School
• JaNiah Hoskins of Smiths Station High School
• Kathryn Kirkland of Auburn High School
• Vanisha Miles of Smiths Station High School
• Myla Ragan of Auburn High School
• Grace Richardson of Auburn High School
• Mercer Shirah of Auburn High School
• Addie Shoemaker of Opelika High School
• McKenzie Steury of Auburn High School
• Hannah White of Discovery Christian High School
• Addison Wood of Auburn High School
• Audrey Wright of Auburn High School
• Audrey Young of Auburn High School.
Founded in 1958, Distinguished Young Women is a free program that encourages participants to reach their full individual potential. Its mission is to empower young women by providing over $1 billion in scholarship opportunities, connecting them with a nationwide network of women, developing their self-confidence and participating in our Life Skills Workshops that prepare them for
success after high school.
