By Morgan Kamara\/\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Distinguished Young Women, a national scholarship program for high school girls, held a contest at Hood College Saturday, March 11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 15 young women who competed were judged on interview skills, talent, fitness, and self-expression, giving them a shot at becoming the Distinguished Young Woman for the state of Maryland in 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All received $100 for participating in the preliminary competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event began with each contestant pulling a question out of a box and answering the question in two minutes. Questions included, \u201cWhat brings you pride about your generation?\u201d and \u201cAs the local DYW Representative, how do you plan to promote DYW and recruit girls to participate in their local DYW program in your community?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end, while the judges deliberated, the audience watched videos of the contestants. Some contestants performed, including Neha Nair, who played the piano; Isabella Vazquez, who played the ukulele; and Lily Pheng, who danced to Doja\u2019s Cat song, and then played a rendition of it on the violin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some Hood students who attended were Distinguished Young Women of their home state, including Faith Kiser, who was the Distinguished Young Woman of North Carolina in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAny participant would make a fabulous representative,\u201d Kiser said. \u201cI cannot wait to see them shine onstage!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next event of the DYW competition will be held at Frederick Community College July 29.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"