Audrey Clark, Oakdale’s Distinguished Young Woman, represented Oakdale in the Distinguished Young Women of California Class of 2027 State finals in Bakersfield on July 26. Clark joined 22 upcoming high school seniors from all over California who competed in five categories: Scholastics, Interview, Fitness, Talent, and Self Expression. The finals included a live showcase featuring fitness, talent, and public speaking.
For the Fitness category, Clark completed an aerobic fitness routine consisting of squats, kicks, planks, and pushups. For her talent, she presented architectural drawings of a home she designed explaining the process to the audience and judges. In Self Expression, she displayed her public speaking abilities in an on-stage speech addressing one specific way she would like to improve the lives of people in her community and how she would begin making that change. Clark provided that the Distinguished Young Women program has taught her that opportunities in terms of college and the future that are available to her are more extensive than she might have thought before. She would like to improve the lives of those in her community by taking up more leadership positions in clubs at school in order to have a better platform to share her experiences with young women like herself to spark their curiosity as to what other opportunities may be available to them as well as their drive to help them reach a higher level of achievement.
The competition also included a review of the participants’ academic records and a 10-minute personal interview with the program’s judges.
A total of $19,000 in college scholarships were awarded. Jessie Cai of Central Los Angeles County was named California’s Distinguished Young Woman for the Class of 2027.
Clark and her fellow participants spent a week in Bakersfield preparing for the competition, participating in life skills workshops with guest speakers including the mayor of Bakersfield, and performing community service.
Of her experience, Clark shared, “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to represent Oakdale at the California State Distinguished Young Women showcase. This experience was wonderful in exposing me to all the options I have to explore for college and my future. To be honest, I was a bit intimidated coming into this program knowing that such talented and academic young women would be there. After the first night however, I had truly bonded with the girls and realized that we each have similar desires for our futures, despite our differing upbringings. Having conversations with these aspirational young women motivated me, as an upcoming senior, to apply to colleges that I would not have seen as possible for me before. The advice I received from all the program leaders, has-beens, and participants has been truly eye opening in helping me make decisions about my future. Coming out of this program, I feel so much more confident in my capabilities and preparation for attaining a higher education and entering the work force.”
Oakdale’s program is sponsored by Soroptimist International of Oakdale. The next local program for the Class of 2028 will be held in 2027 and is open to junior class girls that reside within the 95361 zip code area or attend an Oakdale high school. For more information about Distinguished Young Women, visit www.DistinguishedYW.org. For more information about Soroptimist International of Oakdale, visit www.sioakdale.org, Oakdale Soroptimist Facebook, and soroptimist_of_oakdale Instagram.
This article was provided by Soroptimist International of Oakdale member Nancy Lilly.
