Sorrayar Sounthala of Ceres has joined 28 other scholastically accomplished high school seniors for the Distinguished Young Women of California State Finals in Bakersfield, preparing to compete for $40,500 in college scholarships.

The 58th Annual Distinguished Young Women of California State Finals, formerly known as California's Junior Miss, will begin at 7:30 p.m. on July 24-26 at the Harvey Auditorium.

Twenty-nine outstanding young women from across the state will be vying to be recognized as the Distinguished Young Woman of California for the Class of 2015 and the opportunity to represent the state at the 59th Annual Distinguished Young Woman National Finals in Mobile, Alabama in June 2015. The upcoming event in Bakersfield serves as the state preliminary for the national event.

Sounthala was selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Ceres. She is a rising senior at Central Valley High School, and her parents are Theppharack and Sudchai Sounthala. Sorrayar participates in extracurricular activities such as California Scholarship Foundation and National Honor Society. She aspires to attend UC Davis, UC San Diego, CSUMB or Stanford and become a pediatrician. Her talent for Distinguished Young Women of California is a piano solo.

Founded in 1958, Distinguished Young Women is the largest national non-profit scholarship program for high school girls. Previously known as America's Junior Miss, the program announced its new name in 2010. The mission is to positively impact lives of young women.

by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent.

For more information, visit www.distinguishedyw.org/ca.