Speaking from experience

Speaking from their experience, both Audrey Kroft, Distinguished Young Woman of West Central and Grace Wenzler, Distinguished Young Woman of Winamac, agree that the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) Scholarship program is an amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity that all girls should consider taking advantage of. Distinguished Young Women is a national scholarship program that has provided life changing experiences for more than 780,000 young women and more than $118 million in cash scholarships at the local, state and national levels combined. Participants start by competing in their local program and then from there the local winner goes on to compete at the state level. If they win state, they go to the national finals which are held in Mobile, Alabama in June. Kroft and Wenzler ultimately received scholarships on the local level and went on to the state competition which was held in Kokomo in mid-February. Although neither landed in the Top 10, that didn't discount their experience any. They were judged on five categories: scholastic (25%), interview (25%), self-expression (15%), talent (20%) and fitness (15%). The goal is to find the top, most well-rounded girl. Kroft shared that the Distinguished Young Women Scholarship Program helped her realize that she is capable of accomplishing more than she ever would have imagined. For Wenzler, it was about letting go of fear and putting herself out there.