Newton County High School rising senior Jasmin Brooks is preparing to compete at the state Distinguished Young Women program July 12-14 at The Evangel Temple in Meridian.
Brooks was named the DYW of Newton County for 2019 at the annual program in February, where she also won preliminary awards for self-expression, talent and fitness. She is the daughter of Larry and Sharon Brooks of Collinsville.
Brooks said she has had to balance preparing for the state competition with working at Miller’s Gymnastics in Newton and summer cheerleading.
“I did most of my study time in class because that’s about the only time that I had for that,” she said. “After school I went straight to cheer, and after cheer I worked from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. while I worked on my DYW fitness and talent.I also went over questions for the interview portion.”
The participants in the state competition will be judged in five categories: scholastics (25 percent), interview (25 percent), talent (20 percent), self-expression (15 percent) and fitness (15 percent).
She will be performing an acrobatic jazz routine to the Jerry Lee Lewis hit “Great Balls of Fire” for her talent.
“I’m looking forward to meeting new people and doing my talent because that’s really how I express myself,” Brooks said.
In addition to her role as a Cougar cheerleader, Brooks is also a member of the student council, Beta Club and the high school choir.
Brooks first got involved more than two years ago as a Little Sister for former DYW competitor Nicole Longmire.
Since being named as the county’s DYW, Brooks has participated in a program with the Newton County Class of 2025 where she shared the Five Elements of the district’s Be Your Best Self program which consists of: be healthy, be involved, be studious, be ambitious, and be responsible. She has also promoted the advantages of the DYW program to young girls around the county.
After graduation from NCHS next spring, Brooks plans to attend ECCC, and then enroll in a nursing program at the University of Southern Mississippi or Belhaven College.
Newton County DYW Program Director Lauren Castillo said Brooks will be well prepared heading into next week’s competition.
“She performed in a dance recital to boost her confidence as a dancer. She’s always been a great tumbler, but she hasn’t always had the confidence as a dancer so we’re hoping that gave her a little more confidence on the stage,” Castillo said. “She’s worked really hard and I’m very proud of her.”
Castillo has also helped Brooks prepare for the interview portion which will go towards a quarter of the scores.
“These girls not only have to be aware of things that they’ve given information for from the judges, but they have to be aware of things that are going on in the world,” Castillo said. “That’s what great about this program. I think that’s something that’s good for teenagers that are coming out of high school. It makes them look outside their comfort zone and be able to speak on things that they might not have been comfortable talking about.”
For tickets to next week’s program, call or text Kimbo Floyd at 601-480-3438. The Thursday and Friday night preliminary competitions will be held at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday night finals will begin at 8 p.m. General admission costs $15 for Thursday and Friday and $20 for Saturday.
