The spotlight shone Saturday on 13 high school juniors vying for the chance to be recognized as the 2017 Pearl River County Distinguished Young Woman.

After the young women graced the stage with their talent, the coveted title was given to Brooke Warden of Picayune Memorial High School, who appeared shocked and excited when she was announced winner. She showcased prowess in the following categories: interview, scholastic achievement, fitness, talent and self-expression— the last three categories were judged by six judges during Saturday’s show.

In the talent category, Warden played the guitar and sang a self-composed piece called, “Reaching Up to Heaven.” In the self-expression category in which the young women were asked an individual question, Warden responded to the following question: how can you be a role model?

“I think that I can be a role model by making good choices and setting the examples to others of how to love and serve other people in all that I do,” Warden said.

She hopes to attend the University of Mississippi and one day pursue a career in political science or journalism. She also won several other awards that night including, the Sam Atkins Be Your Best Self award and the Maryland Lumpkin interview award and was named the John B. Lumpkin Spirit winner.

Once her name was called, Abby Montgomery, the 2016 county DYW winner, bestowed to her the prized medallion and soon after a large group of fellow participants gathered around Warden, congratulating her on her accomplishment.

This year’s participants were, Jessie Besanson, Annabelle Cantara, Serena Butler, Delora Elizabeth Denney, Alexis Lanier, Selma Marie Newbill, Sadie L. Kesler, Ann Elizabeth Taggard, Patricia Aldana, Jade Long, Anna-Kate Perry, Warden and Madison Songy.

The second runner-up was Taggard from Picayune Memorial High School. She also received the talent award for her tap routine of Shoeless Joe from the musical “Damn Yankees.” The first runner-up was Songy from Pearl River Central High School, who has aspirations of becoming a nurse anesthetist.

Other winners that night included, Denney for the scholastic award, Perry for the self-expression award and Butler for the fitness award.

The college bound women spent months preparing for the program by attending practices, submitting school transcripts, interviewing with the panel and participating in boot camps. The interview and scholastic categories are judged prior to the program, said Angela Hawthorne, co-chair of the local program.

“It’s not who walks away with the medal, but about how you grow in the process. They learn interview skills and how to speak onstage, and that’s scary for them at their age so it makes them face their fears and get out of their comfort zone, making them better young women,” Hawthorne said.

The program was founded in 1958 in Mobile, Alabama and is the oldest national scholarship program for high school girls, Hawthorne said. Since its inception, the program has provided more than $10 million in cash scholarships at the local, state and national levels to more than 730,000 women across the country.

Many things have changed since the program’s inception, including the fashion.

“They used to have to wear a white, long dress, then it changed to any color but it had to be a long dress and then could be short and any color,” Hawthorne said.

During Saturday’s program, Montgomery shared her DYW experience with the crowd. Last year, she got the chance to compete against young women statewide in Meridian after receiving the local title.

However, Anna Daniel of Madison County, who was also in attendance, won the 2016 state title.

Even so, Montgomery said she still feels like a winner because of the sisters she made, including her roommate in Meridian, Daniel.

“When it got close to the competition, it didn’t matter who walked away with the medallion. We were all sisters and rooting for each other,” Montgomery said.

She did, however, walk away with self-confidence.

“Before the DYW program, I was on the edge about speaking to any type of an audience. Through DYW, I found a new confidence in me. A confidence that allowed me to be able to speak to an audience without getting jitters. A confidence that allowed me to discover and express my own opinions,” Montgomery said.

Throughout the program, Miss Sarah’s School of Dance, Cailey Fleming and the Little Sisters performed dance routines respectively.

Past DYW contestants and winners were also recognized during the program.

Warden will represent Pearl River County at the state competition to be held in Meridian this summer in hopes of receiving the state title and vying for national recognition.