Scholarship, Leadership, Talent: Celebrating Distinguished Young Women From Across All 50 States
All photos via Distinguished Young Women's website / Instagram
You have to meet these young women.
While day to day I am deeply engrossed (some might say obsessed) with running Être, one of my favorite things to do is to spotlight other next gen organizations. And with Day of the Girl less than a month away, I’m over the moon to spotlight America's Distinguished Young Women – the oldest and largest national scholarship program for high school girls...ever.
With more than $1.4 billion in cash tuition and college-granted scholarships made available last year – let that sink in for a moment – DYW has providing life-changing opportunities to tomorrow’s leaders since 1958. Over $122 million has been awarded in cash tuition alone to 782,000 young women, and each year more than 2,000 young women participate from across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
That’s when the fun begins.
Immediately after they’ve tossed graduation caps in the air, state representatives pack their bags and head to Mobile, Alabama for the annual DYW National Finals. Amid bonding experiences, group volunteer projects in the community and large-scale life skills workshops, all 50 finalists meet each other and celebrate on stage before a national audience.
In June I was honored to be asked to speak at the 2026 National Finals, and it’s safe to say the 2026 representatives knocked my socks off. As we chatted afterwards about mentorship, ambition, confidence, cold emails and how to nail every in-person interview, all I could think was - leaders everywhere have to meet these teens.
Their remarks were insightful, their questions profound, their talents prodigious and their joy unrestrained. Watching the videos they sent to Être had me cheering from my couch, and I cannot wait to stay connected to this group.
So here we go.
Être will be spotlighting DYW honorees throughout the fall in our Gen-Ê series, but here’s a head start.
I can't wait for you to meet…
L to R: Audrey CHen, Kaliope Mrgan and Sahana Srikanth
AUDREY CHEN from California, named America's Distinguished Young Woman for 2026, KALIOPE MORGAN from Wisconsin, named first runner-up and SAHANA SRIKANTH from Ohio, named second runner-up.
L to R: Melissa Le, Mia Baumgartner, Hanna Jung, Sophia Campbell and Angela Zhang
Next meet the five 2026 finalists: MELISSA LE from Louisiana, MIA BAUMGARTNER from Alabama, HANNA JUNG from Tennessee, SOPHIA CAMPBELL from Maryland and ANGELA ZHANG from Delaware.
Now meet the full Class of 2026 State Representatives and the upcoming Class of 2027 State Representatives!
Click to play
Wait, there’s more - past National Representatives dating back to 1958 are here and the photos are literally everything.
What makes programs like DYW stand the test of time?
Some of it may be the criteria by which honorees are judged – scholastics, interviews, talent, self-expression and more; all categories designed to let each girl’s authenticity and passion shine through.
Some of it may be the camaraderie that is sparked at the local and regional levels as representatives meet, connect and cheer each other on throughout the finals.
But most of it is the clarity through which girls can see their futures when they look through the lens of scholarship opportunities like these. It's game-changing and every girl knows it.
With thanks to every sponsor that supports DYW and to the leadership that invited me this year, I can’t wait to see what the alumni of this program do next.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Here are three more ways to get involved with DYW you won’t want to miss: Find your program and apply for scholarships here, learn more about the Be Your Best Self program here, and if you are a past participant send in your update here to inspire future DYW leaders!
