Taylor Schneider
This week marks the start of competition for Taylor Schneider, the Cleveland teen competing in the 64th Distinguished Young Women National Finals. The national scholarship program has transitioned to a virtual format this year due to COVID-19 safety protocols. Ms. Schneider, along with 49 other state representatives, will be recognized during the three showcases for their completion of a series of video submissions and video conference calls.
The program’s evaluation process includes scholastics, interview, fitness, talent and public speaking. This year, participants submitted videos for the talent and fitness categories. Ms. Schneider participated in public speaking via recorded video conference call. She also completed an individual interview with a panel of five judges over video conference and her scholastic performance has been scored through an evaluation of her high school academic record and standardized test scores.
The program will be broadcast for free Thursday through Saturday on DistinguishedYW.org in place of the in-person showcases. The video submissions will be compiled, and the three-night event is to be hosted by Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2020 Elif Ozyurekoglu. Each night scholarships will be awarded and on Saturday eight finalists will be selected from the group of 50 young women. One of these eight will be selected to represent the program as the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2021. In total, $130,000 in college scholarships will be awarded to the Class of 2021. The final showcase on June 26 will be broadcast live from the Mobile Civic Center where Ms. Ozyurekoglu will be joined by program alumna and television personality Amy Goodman to host a viewing party and announce the Distinguished Young Woman of America for 2021.
“These young women are intelligent, ambitious and ready to take their place as leaders in their communities,” said Kendra Haskins, executive director of Distinguished Young Women. “We are excited to highlight Distinguished Young Women throughout national finals by showcasing these participants and celebrating the thousands of others who have been impacted by this incredible program throughout the year.”
For her talent presentation, Ms. Schneider will perform a dance to “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.”
Ms. Schneider is a 2021 graduate of Walker Valley High School and the daughter of Nan and Nicholas Schneider.