On Sept. 15, Ainsley Richards of Howard, Ohio was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Knox County for 2025.
She and nine other high school senior girls from across Ohio will join together in Marysville for the Distinguished Young Women of Ohio program to be held Saturday, Nov. 16 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 233 West 6th St. Participants will compete for over $13,000 in college scholarships and the opportunity to represent the state as the Distinguished Young Woman of Ohio for 2025. The program is open to the public and will begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 and will be available at the door or online at dywohio.ludus.com/200464244.
The 10 young women competing will be evaluated by a panel of five judges in the following categories: Scholastics (25%), Interview (25%), Talent (20%), Fitness (15%), and Self-Expression (15%). The participant selected as the Distinguished Young Woman of Ohio will advance to the national level at the 68th Distinguished Young Women National Finals in Mobile, Ala., on June 26, 27 and 28, 2025, where she will join with 50 other representatives from across the country in competing for cash scholarships and the opportunity to represent the program as the Distinguished Young Woman of America. Distinguished Young Women of Ohio welcomes the following participants to Marysville:
Lexie Bumah of Huber Heights
Kyla Fallis of Lima
Kylie Gerken of Maumee
Kaydence Graves of Creola
Ariyannah Kitchen of Marysville
Kristina Ma of Columbus
Siya Patel of Batavia
Jecolia Pinto of Pickerington
Ainsley Richards of Howard
Anna Songer of Marion
About Distinguished Young Women
Founded in 1958, Distinguished Young Women is a free program that encourages participants to reach their full individual potential. Our mission is to empower young women by providing over $1 billion in scholarship opportunities, connecting with a nationwide network of women, developing their self-confidence, and participating in our Life Skills Workshops that prepare them for success after high school. National sponsors include Mobile County, City of Mobile, Barbara Barrington Jones Family Foundation, Alabama Power Foundation, Gant Travel Management, Regions Financial Corporation, The Coffeen Family, John Cauley Jeweler, Jostens and Alabama Media Group.
For more information about Distinguished Young Women visit DistinguishedYW.org/Ohio.
