Moses Lake, Wash. teen named Distinguished Young Woman of Washington

Statewide scholarship program awarded more than $10,000 in cash scholarships to participants

Mobile, Ala. (August 8, 2011) - On August 6, Kendall Earl of Moses Lake, Wash. was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Washington and awarded $6,000 in cash scholarships during a statewide scholarship program for high school girls held at the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Wash.

Earl was one of 17 high school senior girls from Washington who competed to represent the state as the Distinguished Young Woman of Washington for 2012. Other award recipients included: Grace Druffel of Colton (1st Runner-up, Spirit Award, Scholastics Award, Self-Expression Award) and Jocelyn LejaMeyer of Clarkston (2nd Runner-up, Scholastics Award, Talent Award). Participants were evaluated in the categories of Scholastics (20%), Interview (25%), Fitness (15%), Self-Expression (15%) and Talent (25%).

Throughout the next year, Earl will represent Washington at various public events and serve as a role model to young people by spreading the program’s national outreach message of “Be Your Best Self.”

Earl is the daughter of David and Peggy Earl and is a senior at Moses Lake High School. Earl’s achievements include: Perfect ACT score in Reading; Big Bend Comm. College President's List; MLHS Honor Roll; Finalist for TV show, America's Got Talent; MLHS Student of the Month; Washington State Scholar Athlete Award; WA State Dance/Drill Champions in Kick; WA State Dance/Drill Champions in Dance; WA State Dance/Drill Champions in Military. In addition, Earl’s activities include: MLHS Honor Society; TG Studio Dance Team; Moses Lake High School Drill Team; dance teacher at TG studio; president of church youth group; published short stories on Teen Ink website; MLHS Link Crew mentor program; Youth Camp Leader.

The 55th National Finals will take place on June 28, 29, and 30, 2012, in Mobile, Alabama. Earl will travel to Mobile, Alabama along with 49 other state representatives to participate in personal development activities and community service projects before competing for the opportunity to become the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2012 and for a share of more than $140,000 in cash scholarships. Tennessee’s Katye Brock, who will attend the University of Tennessee-Knoxville this fall, won the 2011 overall award.

For more information on Distinguished Young Women of Washington, please contact Danielle Kallaher at 509-334-0561 Washington@DistinguishedYW.org.

About Distinguished Young Women
Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Alabama, Distinguished Young Women, is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls. During its 54 years of operation, the program has provided life-changing experiences for more than 700,000 young women. Last year Distinguished Young Women provided more than $108 million in cash and college scholarship opportunities to program participants at the local, state and national levels. Previously known as America’s Junior Miss, the program announced its new name in June 2010.

The mission of Distinguished Young Women is to positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent. National sponsors include the City of Mobile, Mobile County, Eastern Shore Toyota, Encore Rehabilitation, Mobile Gas: A Sempra Company, Alabama Power Foundation, Regions Bank and Master Boat Builders.

For more information about Distinguished Young Women, contact Stephanie Bradford, National Headquarters Communications Director (251-622-5335, Stephanie@DistinguishedYW.org) or visit www.DistinguishedYW.org.

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