February Newsletter - Honoring our past and ensuring a BRIGHT future

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www.DistinguishedYW.org

Countdown to National Finals

118 days left until the 56th Distinguished Young Women National Finals! June 27, 28 and 29, 2013 in Mobile, Alabama.

Meet the Class of 2013!

About Us

The mission of Distinguished Young Women is to positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent.

Distinguished Young Women

National Headquarters

751 Government Street

Mobile, AL 36602

(251) 438-3621

Honoring our past and ensuring a bright future - a message from the Executive Director

I've only been officially on the job for two weeks, but in many ways this feels like a role I've been preparing for the past 20 years! As an alumna, volunteer, and donor of Distinguished Young Women, it's truly an honor to serve as executive director of this amazing organization. Having reached over 700,000 participants and distributed more than $100 million in scholarship opportunities in our 56 year history, this program has a rich legacy of meeting our mission to positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership, and talent.

One of the primary reasons I decided to accept this leadership role with Distinguished Young Women is that I believe whole-heartedly we are facing a moment of unparalleled opportunity. With the right strategies in place for resource development, marketing, program enhancement, and volunteer training, we can stake a firm claim in our communities and in our nation as the premiere scholarship program focused exclusively on high school girls. The need to recognize and empower young women to ensure their success has never been greater. Coupled with the fact that our current economy makes it increasingly difficult for students to afford college without financial assistance, our scholarship program indeed has continued relevancy in our communities.

I will be focusing the efforts of the Distinguished Young Women team to ensure the financial health of the organization, to grow the number of participants on an annual basis, and to steadily increase our media exposure and brand awareness. In addition, we will soon unveil our new volunteer training and management model. Distinguished Young Women is an organization with over 17,000 volunteers, and it's my goal to not only give them the tools to succeed in their roles but to also make us the most sought-after volunteer opportunity in the nation.

Here's to honoring our past and ensuring a bright future!

In the Spirit,

Heather Rocker

You can follow Heather on Twitter (@DYWExecDirector) for an insider look at what's happening at the national headquarters and beyond.

Volunteers Make it Happen!

Name:

Robert McClory

Program:

Distinguished Young Women of Alaska

Current Volunteer Role: Chairman

How long have you served in a volunteer role with Distinguished Young Women?

Sixth year as State Chairman. It's the only role I've had, but it's the one role that requires you to be or oversee EVERY role. It's the one role that really makes for some sleepless nights as you wonder if it's all going to come together on time.

When/how did you get "hooked" on Distinguished Young Women?

My daughter, Aimee, won Alaska in 2007. Aimee said it really impacted her, and it was her hope it would continue for other Alaskans. Nobody else in Alaska wanted to organize it that year, so Barbara Taylor (former National Field Director) pulled the State Program out of her Magic Act. As I saw her pull it together as a stranger to Alaska without any resources, I thought my position as a school counselor and active in many community organizations in Ketchikan would allow me to make it available to other young women in Ketchikan knowing all the great supporters of youth and the arts there. You might say I really just volunteered our community much more than I really took it on my own shoulders. I couldn't do it without countless people supporting me at every turn. Barbara and I discussed what I'd need to do to pull it off as someone who didn't even know about the program to suddenly oversee the entire state program. Becky Jo (former Executive Director) helped and gave me some encouragement and pointers while I was in Mobile for Nationals cheering for Aimee, and held the door open for me to do so.

I still remember our 2nd or 3rd steering committee meeting after I officially took the reins. One other fellow showed up. I had no money committed, no kids signed up, no volunteers crawling out of the woodwork. I almost cried and asked Miguel if I was nuts for trying to pull this all together without knowing what I was doing. Steering committee meetings are still not big, but support is pretty strong after 6 years. Most people will provide whatever is requested of them as long as I remind them in a timely way, so we've been able to keep it going.

What is your "day job?"

I am a school counselor.

Being from a family in which neither parent graduated high school like they should have done, and having to figure out how to pay every bit of tuition, room, board, etc. to earn the three degrees I have completed, I know both how difficult and discouraging it can be if you have nobody to help or encourage you to graduate. I remember being homeless, sleeping in an old van I purchased, insulated and "furnished" and budgeting no more than a dollar a day for meals so I could save enough to pay for school since I knew nothing about financial aid, loans, grants, etc. and nobody helping me figure out how to access those resources.

It cost me years of my life to get through school, start a family and get into this career, and the anxiety of doing so with absolutely no safety net throughout my first two degrees was overwhelming at times. My position now affords me the chance to use my experience and role to help many young people avoid the road that is supposed to be so famous for building character. It's rewarding to be able to put my experience to good use to help make life easier and goals more attainable along the way.

Watching my own children and thousands more get through school and find satisfying career opportunities without the kinds of struggles I faced has convinced me that nobody should really have to fight that hard just to survive while pursuing their college dreams, and they will not be "robbed" of character building experiences if someone is there to help them. I prefer they be able to put all that energy into being better students and community members than I was able to do. That's a much better builder of character, I've learned.

Despite the time involved, I'm fortunate to have learned the lessons I've learned about getting into college, succeeding in school and building on that foundation. I enjoy helping others do that, and Distinguished Young Women is one of the most complete scholarship programs that I know to put some of those lessons to good use. I just worked with one great young student who just got a full-ride to Yale this year. Being one of the first ones he sought to share his success and for him to confide he never could have done it without me is a feeling I can't describe. When I'm the first that a student seeks out to tell me they got into Stanford, Harvard, Naval Academy or achieve some other goal they never dreamed possible, and they credit me in part for helping them do so, feels like being a part of a team that just won the World Series. It's great to share those intimate moments. It's an indescribable feeling. I'm blessed to be in a position to help them make great strides in their lives and I see Distinguished Young Women as one more resource to do so.

What is your favorite aspect of the Distinguished Young Women program?

Meeting the young women. Seeing the whole puzzle come together. Seeing the community rally together to pull it off. Getting the thank yous from girls or their parents for changes and impact the program has left. Hearing the stories of how the trip to Ketchikan or Mobile changed their life forever and feeling that a few days or weeks of my time helped them get four years of college or other tangible or intangibles from that little bit of time I fit in here and there. Driving around with Miguel Torres with a van full of enthusiastic young ladies. Knowing that I have a Gail Klein to help me organize this here each year. Sending and getting fun emails from "Jennifer Jo" down there in sunny Alabama or hearing Val answer that phone and offer to help me overcome problems I'm facing here to realize you have a great support team to help. Knowing there are so many great schools offering terrific full tuition or full ride four year scholarships we can make available with just a little time here and there. Realizing the program has a rich history that connects you right away to a network of volunteers and participants who suddenly regard you as family just by being involved. Those are a few of my favorites.

Across the country, more than 17,000 volunteers make it possible for Distinguished Young Women programs to take place at the local, state and national level. Each month, we will feature one of our outstanding volunteers to give a closer look at the individuals who work tirelessly to ensure our mission is carried out nationwide. Interested in becoming a Distinguished Young Women volunteer in your community, click here to locate a program near you.

Sponsor Spotlight - Wintzell's Oyster House

Wintzell's Oyster House, a Gulf Coast tradition since 1938, has been serving up raw oysters and delicious seafood for over 75 years. Its original restaurant in downtown Mobile has grown to include ten other locations throughout the Mobile area and other parts of Alabama. Wintzell's was named in Willard Scott's All-American Cookbook for the Best Oysters and Crabs, highlighted on Andrew Zimmerman's Bizarre Food show and featured in Delta's Sky magazine, Southern Living and Coastal Living.