Portage High School junior Erin Lichnerowicz put her self-expressiveness, interviewing skills, speaking talent, fitness and scholastic achievement to good use on Saturday evening as she became the Class of 2014 PHS Distinguished Young Woman.
The moment was so emotional that even Lichnerowicz, whose speaking poise helped her garner the title, had difficulty formulating words to express her excitement.
“I literally can’t put it into words because I can’t speak,” Lichnerowicz said. “I guess theatre freaks can make it big too.”
This year’s DYW program featured 35 of Portage’s finest junior females, who shared the stage with 2013 Distinguished Young Woman Rachel Stewart. Salina McConnell received the Hanley Award, which is given out annually to a non-finalist. Taylor Mlynski took home the Joe Stevens Award and Jamila White notched the Spirit of DYW Award.
Danielle Solis, a member of the 2013 state champion gymnastics team, was named the first finalist, while Shannon Summers (second finalist), Justine Brasseur (third finalist) and Rachel Major (fourth finalist) rounded out the top five. The other finalists were Christina Figueroa, Jordan Kwiatkowski, Ariella Pearman, Sara Quiroz and Desire’ Rodriguez.
“From the honors and activities of these distinguished young women, it is obvious that they are doing an excellent job of making positive achievement a personal objective in their lives,” PHS Principal Caren Swickard said during her remarks to the audience. “They are all very committed within the school and within their community.”
Along with the title of Distinguished Young Woman comes a $2,200 cash scholarship, a medallion, various gifts and the opportunity to participate in the state competition next February. However, that is not all that Lichnerowicz will take away from her experience.
“Definitely don’t judge a book by its cover,” she said. “I saw a lot of tall, blonde, peppy, sports girls and I’m just like, ‘Oh yay, I’m going to get made fun of,’ but honestly I’ve made some friends here that I never would have even talked to if I would have seen them at school. All of these girls are amazing people and I am so lucky to have met all of them.”
The program was judged by Laura Hodges Anderson, Lisa Ford, Bonnie Martin and Ali Stewart and organized by Carrie Martin, Troy Williams and Kevin Giese.
After Solis was announced as the first finalist and the only remaining honor to be handed out was the title of DYW, a mix of confidence and doubt quickly crossed Lichnerowicz’s mind.
“To be honest with you, it was just a jumble of buzzing in my head,” she said. “It was, ‘There’s a possibility,’ and ‘You’re not going to make it’ and ‘Cheer for all the girls.’ I love every single one of them here. I did not think this was going to be what it is; I am so excited and I can’t believe what I have taken from this.”
For more photos from this year's PHS DYW program, follow this link!