Alexis Hrouda & Anika Peterson will each represent their towns

High School girls throughout Wisconsin will come together for the Distinguished Young Women (DYW) of Wisconsin State Finals on Saturday, July 30, 2022, at 7:00 PM. Participants will contend for cash scholarships and the opportunity to represent Wisconsin as the Distinguished Young Woman of Wisconsin at the National Finals in Mobile, Alabama. The mission of Distinguished Young Women is to positively impact the lives of young women by providing a free, transformative experience that encourages young women to reach their full individual potential.

Alexis Hrouda, St. Catherine’s High School student, will participate in the Class of 2023 Distinguished Young Woman State Finals Program as the Distinguished Young Woman of Racine - South. She is a junior at St. Catherine’s High School and is the daughter of Kristina Calverley, Warren Calverley and Micheal Kiolbasse of Racine.

She is joined by Anika Peterson, another junior at St. Catherine’s High School. She is the daughter of Angela Peterson of Racine. Peterson will participate as the Distinguished Young Woman of Racine - North.

Hrouda's extracurricular activities include participation in the National Honor Society, Student Council, Cheer and Poms. She also coaches Cheer.

Hrouda's public service involves volunteering with a "Day with a Purpose." It is her favorite public service event because it is a full day of service for her community, entailing cleaning out churches and houses, to help fix them up and help everyone around them make the community better.

Hrouda chose to participate in the DYW program, "To help with public speaking and participants get the chance to possibly win scholarships for college and to meet new people," Hrouda said.

Hrouda enjoys the undertaking of the program.

"It truly has given me more confidence in public speaking and meeting new people. This program has been an amazing experience and helped me realize how distinguished I am," Hrouda said.

She hopes to become a Biomedical Engineer someday.

Peterson's extracurricular activities involve participating in golf, volleyball, dance, art, YES club, NHS, guardian angels and AHANA. She is also an Angel Fest intern

Peterson chose to participate in the Distinguished Young Women program because she thought it would be a great way to be her best self and learn a lot about herself as a young woman. "To make new friends and form new bonds with people very similar to me in many ways. Also, for the opportunity to advance my skill set in things such as public speaking or organization," Peterson said.

Peterson appreciates the DYW program, having learned a lot from her participation. "It has been a great experience and I’ve learned a lot about myself and my peers," Peterson said.

Her career goals include being a lawyer.

The 2023 Wisconsin State Finals will take place Saturday, July 30th at 7 pm at the Franklin Saber Center. The program will be awarding more than $10,000 in college scholarships at the state level this year.

The 2023 Wisconsin State representative and 49 other high school winners will seek the opportunity to acquire some of the $100,000 in cash scholarships and hundreds of thousands of dollars of college-granted scholarships at the National Finals Program.

The Distinguished Young Women of Wisconsin At-Large Program is now taking applications for girls in the Classes of 2024 and 2025. Apply today at: www.distinguishedyw.org. For more information on Distinguished Young Women of Wisconsin, please contact State Chairperson Meg Sranske at: wisconsin@distinguishedyw.org and/or Wisconsin National Support Team member Carol Rubino at: carol@distinguishedyw.org.

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 Barbara Barrington Jones Family Foundation, Mobile County, City of Mobile, Alabama Power Foundation, Shoe Station, Gant Travel Management, the Coffeen Family, Regions Financial Corporation, Jostens and Alabama Media Group.

Wisconsin state sponsors include the Women at Johnsonville, Jockey, Eder Flag, Mathnasium, Young Dance Academy, Dale Carnegie Training, Kwik Trip and the Staybridge Suites Milwaukee Airport South Hotel.

For more information about Distinguished Young Women, contact Tara Principe, National Headquarters Marketing and Communications Director, at 251-438-3621 or Tara@DistinguishedYW.org or visit www.DistinguishedYW.org.