FIRTH — In the packed auditorium of Firth High School Saturday night, nine talented young women took to the stage with immense talent, poise and character.
From exuberant fitness routines to graceful instrumental solos, these contestants of Firth and Shelley high schools proved they had star-quality. Yet, only one could win the title of the Distinguished Young Woman of Firth/Shelley.
That young woman was Shannon Christensen, of Firth.
Not only did she win the top honor that comes with a $1000 scholarship, she also snagged awards in four other categories for a grand total of $1700 for future college expenses.
“It could’ve been any of them but they picked a great winner,” said Co-director Kristine Richardson.
“She’s going to be wonderful and represent the community well.”
Christensen is the daughter of Kevin and April Christensen and the youngest of six children. She performed a piano solo titled, “If I Were a Bird I’d Fly to Thee,” by Adolf von Henselt.
From the time she signed up for the DYW program in December until Saturday’s performance, Christensen spent many hours perfecting her skills in every category of the competition.
She estimated spending more than 65 hours practicing piano for the talent portion alone.
The five categories judges graded contestants on included scholastic, interviews, talent, fitness and self-expression. The scholastic and interview portions were completed before the night performances. Together they accounted for 45 percent of the competitor’s grade. The remaining 55 percent of the contestants’ grade came as they performed the last three categories before audience members.
“The judges were looking for the most well-rounded girl,” said Richardson.
“They deliberated for over a half hour so I knew it was a tough decision.”
Christensen said she’s appreciative of the opportunity for new friendships. Her older sister, a former contestant, was her “backstage mother” giving her direction and support for the show.
“I’ve wanted to do it ever since I was little,” said Christensen.
She said of all the categories, the talent segment was her favorite because she had worked so hard and wanted to do well on it. The most challenging segment was the interview, she explained, in which she coincidentally took one of two $250 awards. Brittney Gallant received the second award.
“You have to think about questions you’ve never been asked before,” Christensen said.
“You have to come up with unbiased answers and you never know what they are going to ask you so you have to be on top of things,” she added.
For the past month, every night was spent with her mother formulating possible questions and answers she could give to them.
She felt she delivered strong answers during the interview segment and when the second and first alternates were announced on stage she said she, “kind of knew,” the top honor was hers.
“I thought it would be a close competition and it was … those girls did amazing.”
Christensen graduates from Firth High School next year. She plans to attend either BYU-Idaho or Utah State University and major in social work so she can “help children who are less fortunate.”
Former Distinguished Young Woman of Firth/Shelley McKayla Richardson proved a valuable asset to the community during her 2012-2013 reign.
She chose “Handbags of Hope” as a platform for service by collecting handbags, filling them with toiletries and delivering them to domestic violence victims. She delivered 106 purses, exceeding her original goal of 100.
Christensen will have the opportunity to focus on a platform of her own to help the community, as well as provide her with valuable leadership opportunities and personal growth.
In addition to Christensen, the 2014 candidates for the DYW of Firth/Shelley included Brittney Gallant, Rachel Schiess, Kayla Jensen, Tailor Carpenter, Jessica Mecham, Ashley Carpenter, Maryssa McLeish and Miranda Hatton.
The DYW program is a nationwide scholarship program for high school girls. Founded in 1958 in Mobile, Ala., it has evolved and changed names over the years. In 2010, the program’s name was changed from America’s Junior Miss to DYW.
“I think that upcoming juniors should definitely do it and work on it because it’s just a great experience,” said Christensen.