Press Release
Mobile, Ala. (June 25, 2014) – Tomorrow marks the start of competition for Brooke Rucker, the Cartersville, Ga. teen competing in the 57th Distinguished Young Women National Finals. Rucker, along with 49 other state representatives, has been in Mobile, Ala. for the past two weeks participating in community activities and preparing for the national scholarship competition.
The program’s evaluation process includes scholastics (20%), interview (25%), fitness (15%), talent (25%) and self-expression (15%). During the preliminary competition tomorrow and Friday, each participant will compete in the categories of self-expression, fitness and talent. Rucker will complete an individual interview with a panel of five judges and her scholastic performance has been scored through an evaluation process of her high school academic record and standardized test scores.
On Saturday, June 28, ten finalists will be selected from the group of 50 young women and will compete for the opportunity to represent the program as the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2014 and for a share of more than $150,000 in cash scholarships.
“The 50 state representatives have worked extremely hard during their time in Mobile, but even more importantly is what they have done throughout their lives that has guided them to this journey,” said Pam Patterson, Interim Executive Director of Distinguished Young Women. “The work ethic they have demonstrated in their commitment to being leaders in the areas of scholarship, leadership and talent is unparalleled; we know the future is in good hands with these dedicated young women. Even though, on Saturday evening, one young woman will be selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of America, she is representative of numerous girls across the country who have already made an impact on countless thousands through service to their schools and communities.”
For her talent presentation, Rucker will perform a tap dance to “Overture/All That Jazz.” Rucker is a 2014 graduate of Woodland High School and the daughter of Tanya and Donald Rucker.
To view the live webcast of the Distinguished Young Women National Finals, visit www.DistinguishedYW.org <http://distribution.mymediainfo.com/lists/lt.php?id=fB8LBFNQDl0HBk8MVQBXBE9WV1EBBwQ%3D> on Saturday, June 28 at 7 p.m. CST. To see photos of participants from their time in Mobile, visit www.fpvision.com <http://distribution.mymediainfo.com/lists/lt.php?id=fB8LBFNQDl0HB08MVQBXBE9WV1EBBwQ%3D> .