The winner of the pageant would eventually choose her successor to carry on the role of representing the annual program: an act similar to what every America's Junior Miss has done a year after winning the title, but it's the judges who decide first. In the late 1920s, Mobile's Junior Chamber of Commerce, known today as the Jaycees, began the earliest form of the Junior Miss program as an annual floral pageant in the spring to encourage participation from residents in local beautification projects, including azalea flowers. The Distinguished Young Women program is free to enter. Each year the Distinguished Young Women program gives out over $1 billion in scholarships. Each state hosts a state program in which the chosen representative advances to the national program, held in the program's birthplace of Mobile, Alabama.

Participants compete in the categories of Interview (25%), Scholastics (25%), Talent (20%), Fitness (15%), and Self-Expression (15%).

Since its creation in 1958, over 700,000 young ladies have participated in competitions spanning the United States. In addition, through the Distinguished Young Women Life Skills program, which includes workshops and online resources, participants can learn skills like interviewing, public speaking, self-confidence building and much more. This program is designed to provide young women with the opportunity and support needed to succeed before, during, and after attending college. Depending on the schedule of the various state and local programs, young women are eligible during the summer preceding their senior year in high school.

JSTOR ( May 2008) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)ĭistinguished Young Women, formerly known as America's Junior Miss, is a national non-profit organization that provides scholarship opportunities to high school senior girls.

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