Forest Park Teen to Compete in 56th Annual Distinguished Young Women of Illinois Competition

A high school senior for Forest Park is one of nine students who will compete this weekend in the 56th Annual Distinguished Young Women of Illinois Competition, formerly called America's Junior Miss.

The Illinois competition will be held at the Timbers of Shorewood, 1100 N. River Rd. in Shorewood, on Sunday, Nov. 18 at 2:30 p.m.

Kylie Hardin, of Forest Park, will compete against eight other high school seniors on Nov. 18 to be named the Distinguished Young Woman of Illinois. The winner will then travel to Mobile, AL for personal development and community service projects before competing for the national title and a share of more than $125,000 in cash scholarships.

The categories in which the contestants will be judged are Scholastics (20 percent); interview (25 percent); talent (25 percent); fitness (15 percent); and self-expression (15 percent).

Other seniors who will be participating in the Illinois competition are April Butcher of Bolingbrook, Hunter Hill of Thawville, Isha Jog of Schaumburg, Nicolette Maas of Lyle, Erika Smolyar of Lake Zurich, Nina Strong of Streamwood, Johanna Sveden of Crystal Lake and Amanda Vitrano of Chicago.

America's Junior Miss, now Distinguished Young Women of America, was founded in 1958 in Mobile, AL and is one of the oldest national scholarship programs for high school girls, according to the organization.