Mission: to positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership & talent. To positively impact the lives of young women by providing a transformative experience that promotes and rewards scholarship, leadership and talent. The Distinguished Young Women program is proud to be the oldest and largest scholarship program in the nation for college-bound high school senior girls. Since 1958, more than 745,000 young women have participated in the program at the local, state, and national levels. Our unique non-profit organization combines a program of free workshops and rehearsals where participants learn life skills like interviewing, public speaking and self-confidence building with the opportunity to win scholarships for college.