The Distinguished Young Women of Indiana Scholarship Program is part of a national scholarship initiative that celebrates and empowers many young women, typically those who display leadership and talent in their everyday lives.
Created to help unlock the full potential of high school girls like Sophia Beeson ‘25 and Veronica Rondinella ‘25, the program offers a path filled with scholarship opportunities and personal growth. Drawing over 780,000 young women to compete at the local, state, and national level, over $118 million in scholarships have been awarded, two of those competitors are from Indiana’s very own Cathedral High School.
Veronica Rondinella said, “To participate, you have to apply as a junior and then compete in your county, and then all the winners will compete in the state. There are five categories included in the program that are scored by judges, which include scholastics, self-expression, interview, talent, and fitness.”
After applying as a junior, Rondenilla received her acceptance letter and quickly began preparing for the competition. Competing in her county, winning, and moving on to the state competition, she discovered many lessons in leadership, responsibility, and the importance of taking initiative. To have won in her county and make it to state, she had to submit videos of her dancing, doing fitness routines, answering self-expression questions, as well as going through an interview process and sending her transcript – all while juggling college applications, senior events, school, and extracurricular activities.
Rondinella remembers it being very stressful, but all seemed to work out when she got her call that she made it to the state. The stakes seem to be high, however, Rondinella continues to hold her head high as she prepares to compete next month in Kokomo, IN for a week, where she will compete against 23 other girls in the state. Rondinella said, “My overall goal is to meet and connect with as many people as I can and earn scholarship money for college.”
Sophia Beeson, also winning in her county, has since been learning the new fitness routine, and practicing her talent in preparation for the state competition. Preparation for her county competition was short as she only spent one day rehearsing, before competing on that same day at Hamilton Heights High School.
Overall, not only did she learn more about the many different girls in the program, but she has more importantly learned about how much the program is dedicated to women’s success and female empowerment.
Beeson said, “In the future, I hope to use this experience to help others get involved in similar competitions and hopefully build lifelong connections with the girls in the program regardless of how far I make it in the competition.”
