Smart named Distinguished Young Woman of Post Falls
Keith Cousins | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 5 months AGO
<p>Distinguished Young Women of Post Falls second finalist Kirsten Rowley, left, 2016 winner Ashley Smart, and first finalist Jainy Anderson, pose for a photo after Saturday night's event at Post Falls High School. All three of the young women are juniors at Post Falls High School and the event was open to high school juniors that live in Post Falls.</p>
<p>Ashley Smart, left, a junior at Post Falls High School, poses with reigning Distinguished Young Woman of Post Falls, Christina Sedgwick, shortly after it was announced that Smart won the 2016 competition. Smart, 17, will travel to Boise in September for a chance to represent Idaho at the national contest in Mobile, Ala.</p>
<p>From left, Kyra Dean, Megan Larsen, Kirsten Rowley, Zoe Peterson, Savannah Fitzgerald, Jainy Anderson, Tarin Drapeau, Shelby Hanson, Ashley Smart and Cenedra Witherspoon competed in the 2016 Distinguished Young Women of Post Falls competition at Post Falls High School on Saturday night. All of this year's contestants are juniors at Post Falls High School.</p>
Ashley Smart said she didn't expect to be named 2016 Distinguished Young Woman of Post Falls on Saturday night.
In fact, the 17-year-old junior at Post Falls High School didn't know about the competition at all until her best friend, Zoe Peterson, told her about it.
"When I heard about it, I thought that was totally me," Smart said. "I love being on stage and trying to entertain people."
The competition - a local preliminary for the national Distinguished Young Women scholarship program - began Saturday afternoon, with Smart and nine other high school juniors being interviewed by judges at Post Falls High School. They returned to the high school Saturday night, where they were judged in a talent show, fitness routine, and how they answered questions on stage in front of an audience.
"Winning it felt really good," Smart said Sunday.
Marci Clark, Chairman of DYW Post Falls, said that a huge portion of the judging and final results comes from the participants' afternoon interviews and their scholastic records.
"By the time they even get to the program in the evening, 45 percent of their work is already done," Clark said.
She added that the scholastic score looks at a combination of factors including grade point average, test scores, and what level of classes the participants are enrolled in.
Although the program is open to all high school juniors in Post Falls, this year's group of girls were all from Post Falls High School. Smart said that, with the exception of Peterson, she only knew the other participants in passing and enjoyed the opportunity to make eight new friends.
"They're an amazing group of girls and they're all really talented," Smart said.
Other than meeting new friends and competing with her best friend, Smart said her favorite part of the competition was getting the opportunity to show off the work she has done with High School Youth Pursuing Excellence. The HYPE program enables her to perform songs in the community, often dressed as a Disney princess, and Smart dressed as Rapunzel while singing the song "When Will My Life Begin" from the film "Tangled" during the talent portion.
Smart and five other contestants received scholarships from the $5,000 given to Distinguished Young Women of Post Falls by event sponsors.
Throughout the summer, Smart and the two finalists, first finalist Jainy Anderson and second finalist Kirsten Rowley, will represent the organization at public events such as the Post Falls Days Parade. Clark said that the summer events, and a great deal of training, will help Smart prepare for the state competition, which takes place in Boise in September.
"The degree of difficulty increases a lot at the state level," Clark said.
Smart told The Press that she was excited about the opportunity to represent Post Falls at the state level. If she wins, Smart would then represent the state in Mobile, Ala., at the Distinguished Young Women National Finals and compete with representatives from all 50 states for more than $130,000 in scholarships.
"I have all summer to prepare, but summer goes really fast," Smart said. "God has a plan for me though, and I'm ready to take on what's coming."