Royal & Mattawa Distinguished Young Women compete at state

PULLMAN - They did not win the state crown, but the Distinguished Young Women from Mattawa and Royal City - Bianca Ramirez and Samantha Eilers - had the pleasure of competing at the state program last weekend at Washington State University.

Pullman's Distinguished Young Woman was selected as Washington's representative to the 2015 Distinguished Young Women national program. Rose Jao, the daughter of Jun and Wei-Chi Jao, was selected Saturday during the program at Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum.

Fifteen school seniors-to-be from across Washington performed to a theater filled with families and friends. More than $8,000 in college scholarships and awards were shared among the young women.

The Pullman High School senior received a $4,000 cash scholarship with her title. In addition, she won $200 scholarships in the Fitness, Talent, Self-Expression, Interview and Scholastic categories. Jao will go on to compete at the annual program in Mobile, Ala., next summer.

The first runner-up, Allison Hyer, DYW of Moses Lake, received a $1,200 scholarship. She also won $200 scholarships in the Fitness and Interview categories. Her parents are Debbie and John Hyer.

Clarkston's DYW, Lindsey Heflin, was the second runner-up. She received an $800 scholarship, as well as the $300 Spirit Award. Her parents are Stephanie and Stephen Heflin.

The DYW from Davenport, Sarah Vesneske, earned the $750 Overall Scholastic Award. Teresa and Kenneth Vesneske are her parents. A $200 Self-Expression category scholarship also went to Colfax's DYW, Amara Huber. Her parents are Denise and Gregory Huber.

Ellensburg's DYW, Abigail Ernest-Beck, won a $200 scholastic category award. Her parents are Kristina Ernest and Daniel Beck. A $200 Talent award also went to Alison Stevens, Chewelah's DYW. Her parents are Shelly and Bob Stevens.

Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Alabama, Distinguished Young Women is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls. During its 56 years of operation, the program has provided life-changing experiences for more than 730,000 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.