Chloe Grace Weeks is a distinguished young woman. She earned Winston County’s DYW title and will be the DYW representative at the state’s competition on July 31 through August 1, 2020. “Always knew I wanted to be part of Distinguished Young Woman. Then I became unsure at times but after serving as Bailey Gregory’s DYW little sister and going to state with her, I knew I wanted to represent our county,” said Weeks. She is the daughter of Kevin and Twyla Weeks, the teen is competing for the state title of Distinguished Young Woman of Mississippi. If successful, she’ll advance to the Distinguished Young Woman for 2021 finals in June 2021 in Mobile, Alabama. Top prize there is a $50,000 national title scholarship. Other winners will receive a share of more than $100,000 in cash scholarship awards. Weeks is a junior at Nanih Waiya Attendance Center. She’s one of 33 high school seniors across the state competing for the DYW Mississippi title. The DYW Mississippi Program competition will take place at The Evangel Temple in Meridian on on July 31 through August 1, 2020, where contestants are evaluated on scholastic achievement, fitness, self-expression, talent and interview. For her talent, she will be playing the piano piece, “Whitewater Chopped Sticks” by Calvin Jones. “The state program has and is going through a lot of changes due to COVID-19,” said Weeks. “We (the other DYW contestants and I) have been meeting on social media but it is not the same and I am ready to meet all of them.” The state DYW program is still working on the audience and public access to the program. “During the quarantine, I was stuck at home and did use that time to work on my exercise routine and practiced my piano routine,” said Weeks. In the county program, Weeks enjoyed the closeness of her fellow contestants. “My favorite part of the DYW program was getting so close to my fellow DYW competitors. Going to practices together and social events created such a bond,” said Weeks. Weeks noted the many benefits of the program, locally and the state one. “The program definitely got me out of my comfort zone. I had to put so much into DYW and regardless of the outcome it developed me as a person. I gained so many skills that I will use in the future. The interview skills alone that I gained will help me with all the interviews for medical or dental school,” said Weeks. “It has made me so comfortable with people and interviewing.” Contestants will soon arrive in Meridian and will participate in a week full of rehearsals, personal appearances, parties and three nights of actual competition, where they compete for approximately $30,000 in scholarships. This is 64th year for the state program. “After zoom and group chats, I am so ready to meet them (contestants) in person,” said Weeks. DYW was founded in 1958 as America’s Junior Miss and was renamed in 2010 to avoid confusion with other pageants. Created as a way to reward the accomplishments of high school girls seeking to pursue higher education, it remains the oldest and largest scholarship program for young women. Notable past participants include Diane Sawyer, Debra Messing, Deborah Norville, Kim Basinger and Kathie Lee Gifford. Mississippi has had three contestants named national winner in the program’s history. “I would encourage all juniors to get involved with DYW. It is a great program and changed my life and it can change another young woman’s life,” said Weeks.
