DYW well underway in Caribou County

At the end of last week, Caribou County’s DYW participants met at Tigert Middle school for a service project directed at younger girls.  The spring time competition is an opportunity for Caribou County young women to work on aspects of their physical, academic, and personal lives that will serve them well in their future careers and beyond.  The DYW program is a supportive community that forms a strong bond between the young women involved, as well as their adult advisors.

A supportive group of those adult DYW advisors was on hand Saturday, in the forms of Danielle Graham, Myra Leatherman, Tonya Yamauchi, and Brenda Nielsen.  The group of girls and leaders laughed, listened to music, and shared stories with one another as they worked on a project specifically designed to help boost the confidence of their younger peers.  The activity is in line with the theme of this year, which is “Bloom.”

Three of the girls were not available, as Friday corresponded with state FCCLA and other competitions, but the lineup for DYW has been set, and the participants will be: Aspen Skinner, Mariah O’ Brien, Miriam Evans, Penny Fullmer, Amanda Cooper, Brooklyn Porter, Jeanaelie Shaffer, and Kylee Fullmer.  Participants in DYW represent the major areas of the county in terms of population, with women from Bancroft, Grace, and Soda all sharing the stage in May.

This year’s Caribou County DYW competition is scheduled for May 2, and will be the culmination of the work the women have been doing since the initial orientation and practice in January.  Over the course of the months leading up to the event, the women practice a wide range of skills in addition to keeping up with their academics.  Academics are a major part of the participant score, and come from a mixture of grades, activities, awards, and other factors typically important to college admissions.  

Personal interviews, answers to question prompts, execution of a choreographed fitness routine, and a talent demonstration are all parts of the competition as well, and the woman eventually crowned DYW generally demonstrates a strong mix of all the required elements. 

Last year’s Caribou County DYW Kallie Stoddard is a great example of that.  In fact, Stoddard, who will be hosting this year’s event alongside Matt Kunz, is currently the reigning Idaho DYW.  

At last week’s Soda Springs City Council meeting, Austin Robinson spoke on behalf of the Lions Club of Soda Springs, which is the major fundraiser for the event.  He noted how important the program was to the community, and how he had seen so many young women benefit from it.

“We absolutely couldn’t do it without the Lions,” Myra Leatherman said.  “We thank them so much for what they do.”

In coming weeks, the program for the DYW event, along with the participant bios and information will be finalized and we will bring you that information in our pages.  In the meantime, we wish the young women and their mentors all the best.  We can’t wait to see what they can accomplish this year!

About DYW:

“Founded in 1958, Distinguished Young Women is a free program that encourages participants to reach their full individual potential. Our mission is to empower young women by providing over $1 billion in scholarship opportunities, connecting with a nationwide network of women, developing their self-confidence, and participating in our Life Skills Workshops that prepare them for success after high school.”