CONTRIBUTED BY DYWLC
LEE COUNTY –– The Distinguished Young Woman (DYW) of Lee County 2023 was named June 11, 2022, at the local DYW program while awarding over $580,000 worth of scholarships to the participants. Anslee Tatum, DYW 2022, presented Keely Rider of Opelika High School as the 2023 winner. Susannah Couey of Opelika High School was awarded first runner-up and Holly Roberson of Auburn High School was awarded second runner-up.
The DYW program awards scholarships in each of the categories including scholastics (25%), interview (25%), talent (20%), fitness (15%) and self-expression (15%). The participants submit an essay on the “Be Your Best Self” tenants and one winner is given a cash scholarship though this is not part of the overall scoring. The participants select a member of this year’s class as the “DYW” spirit winner.
Category winners were:
Scholastics: Shivani Babu, Keely Rider
Interview: Susannah Couey, Holly Roberson
Talent: Emma Childs, Keely Rider
Self- Expression: Shivani Babus, Keely Rider
Fitness: Keely Rider, Holly Roberson
Be Your Best Self Essay: Holly Roberson
DYW Spirit Winner: Caroline Glennon
Keely Rider, Distinguished Young Woman of Lee County 2023, will compete in January for the title of Distinguished Young Woman of Alabama. The Distinguished Young Woman Program, originally called America’s Junior Miss, was founded in 1958 in Mobile, Alabama, in an effort to provide higher education scholarships for young women.