DYW of Idaho kicks off today
Distinguished Young Woman of Sandpoint Ali Terry will be part of a "meet and greet" on Dec. 8 for girls in the Class of 2023 who are interested in learning more about the program.
(Courtesy photo)
Thirty-five high school senior girls from across Idaho will join together in Idaho Falls for the Distinguished Young Women of Idaho program to be held today and Saturday, Oct. 1-2, at The Colonial Theater. Participants will compete for $30,200 in college scholarships and the opportunity to represent the state as the Distinguished Young Woman of Idaho for 2022.
The program is open to the public and tickets will be sold at the door for $15, provided the seating limit has not been exceeded. The shows begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct., and 10 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 2, with the winner being announced at the final show that begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
The Distinguished Young Woman of Idaho have added the option to purchase the livestream for those that are unable to attend in person, as well as the digital download to their Square store. If interested, go online to bit.ly/3l0ggSo. The link to the livestream broadcast will be sent to the email address used to make the purchase online. That is the email address that must click on the link to watch. The individual links will be sent out a few hours before each showcase begins. For more information on Distinguished Young Women of Idaho or questions about ticket availability, please contact Darady Michaelson at 208-521-0011 or idaho@distinguishedyw.org.
The young women competing will be evaluated by a panel of five judges in the following categories: scholastics (25%), interview (25%), talent (20%), fitness (15%), and self-expression (15%). State participant #14 in group 2 is our very own Distinguished Young Woman of Sandpoint, Ali Terry. Ali has been preparing over the summer for this once in a lifetime opportunity. We thought it would be best to hear from Ali in a quick interview.
Q: Are you excited about the upcoming State Program? What are you most excited about?
A: “I am beyond excited for the upcoming state program. I am most excited about meeting all the girls and being able to spread the message of the Be Your Best Self Program which empowers young people with valuable tools to face the challenges of negative peer pressure.”
Q: How did you prepare?
A: “Throughout the course of these last couple of months, I have been preparing in all aspects of the program. I have had my mom help me out with self expression questions, along with continuing to go to the gym to help out with my endurance. Additionally, I have been doing some practice interviews as well as practicing my monologue to also prepare myself.”
Q: What can you tell us about your talent performance? How did you choose this character?
A: “For my talent performance I decided to do the same talent that I did for our local program. I decided to do a comedic monologue because I have always been interested in acting and thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do something that I love. The monologue is an original piece written by Jeannie Hunter, and I portray an old lady character who is talking to her granddaughter about Tinder. When talking with Jeannie about the type of monologue I wanted, I thought it would be best to do something with an old lady character, because that's something I have already done before.”
Q: Have you had an opportunity to meet or communicate with the other participants?
A: “Fortunately for me I have already had the opportunity to communicate with the other participants in the state program. I recently went to a barbecue in St. Maries for all northern girls where I was able to talk to the other girls and get to know some of them before leaving for Idaho Falls. Additionally I have communicated with them via social media in a group chat where we have talked about all sorts of things.”
Q: What will you do if you are named the Distinguished Young Woman of Idaho?
A: “If I was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Idaho I would first use my platform to spread the message of how beneficial this program is to young girls. I would also love to use the platform to spread the message on how having a close family member getting cancer affects the mental health of younger children.”
The Distinguished Young Women of Sandpoint Committee is extremely proud of Ali and all her accomplishments throughout this experience. She has continually worked hard to make Sandpoint proud, giving back to our community in multiple ways, including most recently her work with Kinderhaven. She has embraced the Be Your Best Self platform and is dedicated to spreading that message to our youth. If you would like to send a message of support and encouragement to Ali, please do so at sandoint@distinguishedyw.org.
The participant selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Idaho will advance to the national level at the 65th Distinguished Young Women National Finals in Mobile, Alabama, on June 23, 24 and 25, 2022, where she will join with 51 other representatives from across the country in competing for cash scholarships and the opportunity to represent the program as the Distinguished Young Woman of America.