High school junior girls from Ceres and Central Valley high schools will participate together in the upcoming Distinguished Young Women of Ceres program, hosted by Soroptimist International of Ceres.
The 10 participants - Taylore Bentley, Eva Borden, Natalia Chavez, Sarreaya Coleman, Adria Esho, Danielle Haro, Breanna Mills, Brenna Moreno, Monika Ramirez and Madison Zamaroni - will compete for over $4,500 in college scholarships and the chance to represent the city as the Distinguished Young Woman of Ceres for the class of 2017.
The event will be held Saturday, March 5 inside Ceres High School's small gym/auditorium.
The 10 young women competing will be evaluated by a panel of five judges in the following categories: scholastics (25 percent), interview (25 percent), fitness (15 percent), self-expression (15 percent) and talent (20 percent).
The Distinguished Young Woman of Ceres winner will advance to the state level at the Distinguished Young Women State Finals in Bakersfield in July where she will compete for cash scholarships and the opportunity to represent the program as the Distinguished Young Woman of California.
The mission of Distinguished Young Women is to positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent.
Sponsors for the local program include: Soroptimist International of Ceres, Ceres Lions Club, Vilas Farms, Bertolotti Disposal, StorQuest Self Storage, Ed and Terry Hughes, Carol Nelson Staley, Jill and Bryan Hunt, Meyer CPR & First Aid, Sam's Café, Ceres Unified Teachers Association, Dr. Lynette Grandison, Clarissa Azevedo and E.R. Vine & Sons.
The program is open to the public and will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets will be available for $10 in advance, or $12 at the door. To purchase tickets in advance, email ceres@distinguishedyw.org.
Distinguished Young Women was founded in 1958 in Mobile, Ala., and is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls. During its 58 years of operation, the program has provided life-changing experiences for more than 700,000 young women. Last year Distinguished Young Women provided more than $200 million in cash and college scholarship opportunities to program participants at the local, state and national levels. Previously known as America's Junior Miss, the program announced its new name in 2010.
