Bella Borse (right), North Miami High School student and Distinguished Young Woman of Miami County, will be participating in the Distinguished Young Women of Indiana program, Kelly Latherty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune
KOKOMO, Ind. – The Distinguished Young Women of Indiana program is back in Kokomo for the sixth year in a row with a new theme: The Roaring Twenties.
Sarah Pate from Howard County and Bella Borse from Miami County are participating this year, along with 20 other women from around the state. The program will award $27,000 in scholarships, with an $8,000 scholarship going to the winner.
Pate, a student at Western High School, said she became involved with the program because of a dance instructor who encouraged her to try out. Borse, a student from North Miami High School, said her family is good friends with Bruce Embry, the master of ceremonies for the event. She said Embry told her it would be a good opportunity to meet new people.
Pate said she has enjoyed getting to meet young women from across the state.
“All the girls at the state level are just literally amazing,” Pate said. “They’re all people I would want to be friends with later in life. They’re the type of people I would want to surround myself with.”
For Borse, the best part of the program is finding ways to grow as a person.
“I’ve really enjoyed seeing how all of the different parts of the program come together to make a stronger person,” Borse said. “I’ve learned a lot about how to become just better all around so I can apply that to every aspect of my life.”
The program’s preliminary competition began Thursday and will continue at 7 p.m. tonight at Indiana University Kokomo’s Havens Auditorium, with the finals at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
The group spent the week touring Kokomo, visiting the Popcorn Café, bowling and touring the Seiberling Mansion. For Pate and Borse, the city was nothing new, but they enjoyed spending time with the other girls and providing random facts about the Kokomo area.
They also spoke to groups of young students in the area about the Distinguished Young Women’s national campaign, Be Your Best Self. As part of the campaign, women in the program reach out to younger children to encourage them to be healthy, involved in the community, stay in school, set goals and be responsible.
Pate said she was worried she would have to spend a lot of time explaining the campaign, but the students picked up on it quickly, offering ways they could be responsible and set goals.
When the program kicked off Thursday night, one half of the group performed the talent portion of the program and the other half focused on fitness and self-expression, each answered a question. For talent, Pate performed a dance routine and Borse sang.
Last year’s winner, Sarah Sipe from Hamilton Heights High School, said she’s sad she will no longer be the Distinguished Young Woman of Indiana, but she’s excited for the next winner.
The program is different from a pageant because the girls are judged most heavily on academics and personal interviews, rather than primarily on talent or looks, Sipe said. The young women are evaluated by a panel of judges in scholastics, interview, talent, fitness and self-expression. The winner will move on to compete at the 60th Distinguished Young Women National Finals in Mobile, Alabama.
Tickets to the program are $15 and can be purchased at the door. For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page, Distinguished Young Women of Indiana.