M'Tajia Altman, Distinguished Young Woman of Clarke County, will be one of 31 Mississippi high school seniors competing for more than $30,500 in college scholarships when the 2017 Distinguished Young Women of Mississippi Program gets under way Thursday, July 14, in Meridian.
The state program, which is held in Meridian, Mississippi, is now in its 60th year celebrating and spotlighting outstanding achievements of the state’s best and brightest high school girls. The three nights of competition in Meridian’s Temple Theater concludes on Saturday, July 16. Curtain opens 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday.
Reserved tickets for the 2017 Distinguished Young Woman Program are available for $60 for a three-night package. General admission tickets are available for $45 for a three night package, or may be purchased for individual evenings: $15, Thursday; $15, Friday; and $20, Saturday. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, July 5, and may be obtained by calling 601-480-3438. Visa, MasterCard and American Express are welcomed.
“We are extremely excited about this year’s program,” said Sid Wilkinson, State Chairman of the Distinguished Young Women of Mississippi Program. “This program celebrates what is right with today’s young people and offers them cash scholarship opportunities to further their education.”
M'Tajia, the daughter of Michael and Amanda Altman of Shubuta, attends Quitman High School High School. Academic accomplishments, membership and hobbies include the following: Student Council Class Secretary National Honor Society Vice-President Senior Beta Club Historian/Reporter Mu Alpha Theta Secretary and Academic Quiz Bowl Team She plans to attend University of Southern Mississippi to pursue a career Neonatal Nurse Practitioner.
During the week-long program in Meridian, contestants are evaluated on scholastic achievement, fitness, self-expression, talent and interview. Altman has chosen a Lyrical Color Guard Routine presentation of “The Words” for her talent.
If selected as Distinguished Young Woman of Mississippi, M'Tajia will compete in the Distinguished Young Woman for 2017 finals in June of 2017, held in Mobile, Alabama. There she will compete for the opportunity to win a share of more than $100,000 in cash scholarship awards, including the $50,000 national title scholarship award.
The Distinguished Young Woman Program (formerly America’s Junior Miss) was founded in 1958 and is the oldest and largest scholarship program for young women. More than 6,500 high school girls participate each year. This program has offered more than $1.1 billion in college scholarship opportunities to young women across the country. Past DYW participants include Diane Sawyer, Debra Messing, Deborah Norville, Julie Moran, the late Mary Frann, Kim Basinger and Kathie Lee Gifford.
DYW’s national sponsors include Mobile County, the City of Mobile, and the Mitchell Company. National category sponsors include Alabama Power, Encore Rehabilitation, Mobile Gas, Regions Bank, and Wintzell’s Oyster House. The 60th annual America’s Junior Miss National Finals will be held in Mobile, Alabama, in June of 2017
