EASTHAMPTON – Newly crowned Distinguished Young Woman of Greater Easthampton Ella Smith said she remembers the first time she watched the program, which at the time was called Junior Miss.
“When I was about 10 years old, I went to my first Junior Miss show at the Academy of Music,” the Easthampton High School junior said. “I fell in love – I could see myself up on that stage.”
After winning the title on May 1, Smith, 17, is set to compete in the state event in August. The winner of that competition will go on to the national event.
For the past five decades, the Easthampton program has gathered girls to compete on stage to win scholarships to help fund their post-secondary education. Since its inception, girls from Chesterfield, Easthampton, Goshen, Southampton, Westhampton and Williamsburg have been eligible to participate.
Smith, who was named overall winner in addition to winning several smaller categories, took home over $7,000 in scholarship prizes.
The first runner-up was Amanda Labrie, of Southampton; with the second runner-up Katie Kirouac, of Goshen; and third runner-up Tess McCallum, of Easthampton.
This year, 22 girls competed in several categories: fitness, featuring a choreographed routine set to music; talent, performed individually; self-expression, where the girls display their evening-wear style; and scholastics. Some portions were performed as a group, while others allowed the girls to shine individually.
But the Distinguished Young Woman program is far from the cutthroat pageants shown in movies. Competitors and organizers alike say the program gives local girls from different high schools a chance to come together and build leadership and life skills.
“I’m definitely going got keep in touch” with the other girls who compete, Smith said. “They’re all so inspiring to me. We all helped each other out – it was great to have tons of companions by your side.”
Jennifer Lawton, chairwoman of the Easthampton organization, said the program promotes an overall healthy lifestyle and studiousness.
“The hope (is) that these young women will go on to be leaders in the community and be examples for other young women,” she said. “It’s a fun opportunity, but it’s not just about the fun.”
For 10 weeks leading up to the competition, the girls gathered to practice every Friday.
Smith said she drew on her extensive dance background during the competition. She has been dancing for 15 years and currently is a student at Hackworth School of Performing Arts in Easthampton.
“There was definitely a lot of dancing, which was great because that’s what I love to do,” she said. “I dance all the time, almost every day of the week.”
Smith performed a jazz dance number for the talent category. Those skills also came in handy for other portions of the competition, she said.
Each girl was asked to whom they would give a “lifetime achievement award.”
“I said I would give it to Walt Disney,” Smith said. “He inspired many people and his imagination has brought families together.”
As for her post-high school plans, Smith said she is still not quite sure.
“I definitely want to go to a four-year university, probably in New England,” she said. “I really like the Boston area.”
Smith said she’s interested in pursuing a career as a veterinarian or a occupational therapist.
“I really like interacting with people, making friends and trying to help people,” she said. “On the other hand, I absolutely love animals.”
Her favorite furry critter is a sloth, she said.
Lawton said in addition to local- and state-level programs that award scholarship funds, certain universities offer awards to program winners. New on that list is Worcester State University, which will offer a state winner four years of tuition and fees, she said.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com.