Distinguished Young Woman program set for Saturday

SANDPOINT — Ten outstanding high school juniors will be participating in the 2016 Distinguished Young Women of Sandpoint program.

The event, which is part of a national scholarship program that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent in young women, will be held at 7 p.m. at the Sandpoint Events Center.

Participating in the program are Madeleine Albertson, Grace Bradley, Kelly Curtis, Addison Edwards, Isabella Hauck, Khloe Kyllonen, Amber Laiche, Jaden Lohman, Nichol Reed, and Trista Spence.

Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Ala., Distinguished Young Women (originally called Junior Miss) is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls.

Distinguished Young Women’s goal is to positively impact the lives of young women and inspire them to develop their full, individual potential. It encourages continued education and offers college scholarships and helps the young women to develop self-confidence to interview effectively, speak in public and perform on stage as well as encourage and showcase excellence in academic achievement.

Each Distinguished Young Women program evaluates participants in the following categories: scholastics, 20 percent of overall score; interview, 25 percent of overall score; talent, 25 percent of overall score; fitness, 15 percent of overall score; and self-expression, 15 percent of overall score.

Cash scholarships are awarded at the local level and millions in college-granted scholarships are available — a total of $820 million nationally. Local winners will advance to the state program in Pocatello, where more than $20,000 in cash tuition scholarships are awarded.

Participants in the 2016 Sandpoint Distinguished Young Women program are:

n Madeleine Albertson

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Madeline Albert-son plans to attend Van-couver Island Univer-sity with the goal of pursuing a career in interior design.

For her talent, she will perform a hip-hop, freestyle dance to “Sleepwalker” (featuring Joni Fatora by Illenium).

n Grace Bradley

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Grace Bradley hope to pursue a career as either an orthopedic surgeon or sports physical therapist. She has not yet decided which college she would like to attend.

For her talent, she will perform an original monologue on track.

n Kelly Curtis

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Kelly Curtis plans to attend Kent State, the University of Oregon, or Seattle University with the goal of becoming a writer or a professor or working in the fashion marketing/merchandising field.

For her talent, she will perform a dance to a poem with musical background by Erin Hanson.

n Addison Edwards

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Addison Edwards plans to attend Boise State University, with the goal of pursuing a career as either an elementary school teacher or child psychologist.

For her talent, she will perform a dance to “Get Up Offa That Thang” by James Brown.

n Isabella Hauck

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Isabella Hauck plans to attend college to puruse a career as a math teacher or as an engineer. She had not yet decided on a college.

For her talent, she will read a poem she wrote entitled “The Bee”.

n Khloe Kyllonen

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Khloe Kyllonen plans to pursue a career as an electrical engineer as as a pilot. She has not yet decided on a college, but would like to attend a school in Oregon.

For her talent, she plans to perform a demonstration on tennis.

n Amber Laiche

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Amber Laiche plans to attend either the University of Washington or Cornish College of the Arts. She plans to pursue a career as a dance instructor.

For her talent, she plans to perform a contemporary dance which she choreographed herself.

n Jaden Lohman

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Jaden Lohman plans to attend Washington State University, where she plans to pursue a career as a veterinarian.

For her talent, she will sing “Cups” by Anna Kendrick.

n Nichol Reed

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Nichol Reed plans to attend either Eastern Washington, Stanford Universiy, University of Idaho, or Idaho State University. She plans to pursue a career as a doctor, a pilot or a nurse or in the fields of music performance or education.

For her talent, she will play “Themes 3 and 4 of The Boy Paganini” by Oskar Reiding on her violin.

n Trista Spence

A junior at Sandpoint High School, Trista Spence plans to attend college at either the University of Oregon, Portland State University, or San Francisco University. She plans to pursue a career in either architecture and photography.

For her talent, she plans to recite an original metaphorical poem which she wrote herself.