Boyle County High School graduate Jessie Majors was first runner-up at the state competition in the 2018 Distinguished Young Women's program.
It’s easy for Jessie Majors, a junior at Samford University in Birmingham, to explain why having a Boyle County Distinguished Young Women’s program is so important.
“I was involved in the Distinguished Young Women’s program in 2018 and was first runner-up at state,” she said. “I had to go to Lexington for an at-large competition for girls that did not have a county program. You did not have the opportunity there to win local scholarship money but you could advance to state, and that’s what I did.
“Local programs are a smaller version of the state program but they give local participants a chance to win scholarship money. Local programs get funding and raise money for scholarships not just for the winner but for others even if you don’t make state. It’s a great way for more young women to get involved, get mentorship, and win scholarship money.”
Laura Mason and Donna Majors are co-chairmen of the new Boyle County Distinguished Young Women’s program. The tentative date for this year’s program is Aug. 7 and applications are available at http://boyle.ky.distinguishedyw.org/. There is also a Facebook page (Distinguished Young Women of Boyle County) with additional information.
“Lincoln County has one of the top programs in the state each year when it comes to providing scholarship money. They give out a ton of money,” Jessie Majors, a Boyle County High School graduate, said. “It’s really a great program and is open to upcoming high school seniors.”
Majors said her involvement with the program said having a local program will get more Boyle County young women involved since most won’t go to an at-large program like she did.
“I got to meet a lot of women across the state I would not have met without this program,” she said. “Mentors walked me through the whole process. That’s another great thing about the local programs. Part of the mission is to bring more women in the community into the program and help with college scholarships. But it is also about connecting women in different schools in the county. I had a wonderful, wonderful experience and I am thrilled a local program is being started.”
Each Distinguished Young Women program evaluates participants in the following categories: Scholastics (25 percent), Interview (25 percent), Talent (20 percent), Fitness (15 percent) and Self-Expression (15 percent).
“At state, you see so many different talents. A lot of women think I can’t sing or dance so I can’t compete. But you can do a monologue or public speaking. Art exhibits can be a talent and sometimes you see someone paint on state,” Majors said. “If you are interested in the program, think about what you are good at and it can be incorporated into the talent portion. Don’t be intimidated.
“I can say this is an enriching experience and I am thrilled for more young women in our community to have this opportunity to earn scholarships and gain valuable life skills.
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If you are a high school senior interested in the program, you can email boyle@distinguishedyw.org with questions about the program.
