The Distinguished Young Women of Minnesota Scholarship program is an official preliminary for the Distinguished Young Women of America Scholarship program. More than 750,000 young women across the nation have participated in DYW (formerly America’s Junior Miss) programs at the local, state, and national levels. DYW has over 60 years of scholarship experience, offering over 1.1 billion dollars in scholarships annually.
Our Mission
To positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership, and talent. DYW is a national scholarship program that inspires high school girls to develop their full, individual potential through fun, transformative experiences that culminate in a celebratory showcase of their accomplishments, by:
• Encouraging continued education and providing college scholarships
• Developing self-confidence and the abilities to interview effectively, to speak to the public, to perform on stage, and to build interpersonal relationships
• Encouraging and showcasing excellence in academic achievement, physical fitness, performance skills, and the ability to think and communicate clearly
• Creating opportunities to benefit and inspire the lives of others
Participation
The Distinguished Young Women program begins with programs at the local level. In Minnesota, this can be within your local community (Kandiyohi County, Winona County, or Ivanhoe) or through an At-Large event. We invite all young women from across the state to experience our program. It is always free to participate. Throughout the program, you will be evaluated in all five categories which you can find listed below.
You will also have the opportunity to participate in workshops covering interview and public speaking skills, personal wellness, college and career goals, and our national outreach program, Be Your Best Self. All of this while automatically qualifying you for our cash and/or college-granted scholarships!
While taking part in the Distinguished Young Women of Minnesota programs at any level, participants will display their talents, improve their public speaking and interview skills, network with young women across the state and country, and be recognized for their outstanding achievements.
We hope you’ll join us!
The Process
The timelines below are intentionally vague as our program can change due to participant numbers, resources, and other factors. Keep a close eye on your email for details specific to YOU!
1. Apply online! This ensures that our Participant Coordinators can get the correct information to you regarding your particular program.
2. We will send a welcome email to the email address used in your online application within 7-14 business days. If you don’t see it, double-check that distinguishedyw.org isn’t blocked by your spam filter.
3. Prior to your program; complete and return paperwork to your Coordinator, attend necessary meetings and/or rehearsals as scheduled by your Coordinator, and reach out to your local team with questions or concerns.
4. Program Date: arrive at the designated location on-time and prepared for a full day including; orientation, evaluation (see ‘Evaluation Criteria’ below), life-skills workshops, and more!
5. After your program: ALL participants qualify for college-granted scholarships. Cash scholarships are awarded when available (this varies per local program), and State Finals invitations are announced to those who qualify.
Evaluation Criteria: Participants must complete each of the five categories listed below. At no time are participants evaluated against one another. Evaluation scores are given on an individual basis using the criteria listed below.
Cash scholarships are awarded based on individual merit. Past state scholarship awards can be found on the Class of 2020 Awards page. Participants at ALL levels qualify for College-granted Scholarships.