Julia Harrison has been named Newton County’s Distinguished Young Woman, an honor that recognizes her commitment to scholarship, leadership, and community involvement through a program that’s close to her heart.
Distinguished Young Women (DYW), formerly known as America’s Junior Miss, is a national scholarship program aimed at empowering young women to “be their best selves.” According to Harrison, “The motto consists of being healthy, being ambitious, being involved, being responsible, and being studious... It’s altogether just a way of trying to help young girls gain confidence in themselves and what they have to offer.”
For Harrison, this moment is the culmination of years of preparation. “Growing up I was always surrounded with DYW because my aunt helps with the Neshoba County program,” she shared. “So I began working towards it the summer going into my 10th grade year... working on interview questions, my talent – I’m a vocalist – and fitness. I really had been working on it for about two years.”
Now that she holds the county title, Harrison hopes to use her platform to raise awareness about the program locally. “Around here it’s not been very published, so a lot of girls don’t even know what it’s about,” she said. “It’s really life changing whether or not you win. You learn a lot about yourself through it and gain a lot of confidence.”
She also wants to dispel the myth that participants must be perfect in every category. “A lot of people are scared of the program because it has so many elements,” Harrison said. “They might not think they have a talent or they’re not smart enough because of the scholastic section, but you don’t have to be perfect at every category to give it a chance.”
As she prepares to represent Newton County at the state level this summer in Meridian, Harrison also plans to be more active in her community. “Through being the Distinguished Young Woman, I want to try to get more involved with the community and make an impact in the place that I currently live,” she said.
For young women interested in getting involved, Harrison recommends reaching out to herself or Ms. Lauren Castillo Carson, Newton County’s program coordinator. “You can also just go look at the website and learn a lot about it and see if it’s something that interests you.”
Julia Harrison’s story is a testament to the values the DYW program aims to instill—and her passion and dedication are sure to inspire other young women in Newton County and beyond.
