This past Saturday, on September 27th, Bowling Green Junior High School hosted the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) pageant. In this pageant, senior girls from across Warren County compete in different categories to win scholarship money for the college that they choose. These categories include interview, self-expression, talent, fitness, and scholastic achievement. Contestant Finley Hondorp said that “it is a great way to learn important skills that will be necessary when going to college and starting a career.” In total, seven young women competed, five of which were from Bowling Green High School! Leading up to the pageant, the seven contestants have been rehearsing as a group since the beginning of August to prepare for their fitness routines, self-expression responses, and talent showcases. In rehearsal, every girl is required to learn a group dance and group fitness routine that they present to the judges on pageant day to be judged. The judging panel is a group of adults who have won Distinguished Young Women titles themselves and help educate the upcoming DYW classes.
To start off the show, performances from past DYW winners are showcased and then the real competition begins! Each contestant introduces themselves by doing a dance routine choreographed by head choreographer Betsy Gibson and then they go straight into their solo performances. This year, the performances included dance, singing, playing the piano, and a balancing act. Following the talent section, all of the girls come back to answer an on-stage question individually for the judges. Each year, the question is different. This years’ question was “How do you face challenges?”. After that, all of the contestants do a pre-choreographed fitness routine where they must demonstrate strength and gracefulness while doing cardio. And to conclude the competition, all of the girls come on stage one final time where the award winners are announced.
Now…who won awards?
In addition to the overall Distinguished Young Woman winner, there are several other awards for individual categories such as talent, academics, and more! With Finley Hondorp winning the Scholastic Achievement Award, Lilah Alcott winning the Fitness and Self Expression Award, and Lilah Alcott winning the Distinguished Young Woman title!
Lilah Alcott said her favorite part of DYW was “the preparation, not only did it prepare us for future interviews and keep us active through fitness, it also brought us together as sisters and introduced me to girls I would have never met otherwise”. Lilah will be competing in the next round of Distinguished Young Women in January, where she will be performing in Lexington and staying with a host family! Runner-up Finley Hondorp explained all of the amazing takeaways she has brought with her from the Distinguished Young Women program such as “crucial interview skills and a new DYW family she will cherish forever.”
Both Lilah and Finley found out about Distinguished Young Women through friends who competed in the competition as well, and they encourage anyone who is interested to try it out for themselves.
