Out of 15 contestants in the annual scholarship contest, Jenna Bracamonte was named 2024 Jackson County Distinguished Young Woman.

This week, she will be among 22 seniors competing to represent the state as the Distinguished Young Woman of Indiana for 2024.

Like the county competition, contestants will be evaluated by a panel of judges in the following categories: Scholastics (25%), interview (25%), talent (20%), fitness (15%) and self-expression (15%). There also is a Be Your Best Self essay contest.

The judges will be given access to the contestants’ school transcripts to determine their overall scholastic ability, while talents are done individually, and the contestants will do a group fitness routine and answer a self-expression question.

Two preliminary winners and an overall winner will be chosen in each category, and the senior with the best overall score will win the state title.

The preliminary round will start at 6 p.m. Friday at Indiana University Kokomo’s Havens Auditorium, and the finals will be at the same time and location Saturday.

“I think for the most part, they are looking for someone who is just genuine, someone who has a good heart, someone who tries hard in school, someone who just practices the five pillars, which is to be studious, be ambitious, just all of those things,” said Bracamonte, 17, a senior at Brownstown Central High School.

To prepare for the state contest, Bracamonte said she has been watching videos of the fitness routine and opening numbers.

“I’ve just been going to the gym, practicing those dances and learning those,” she said.

She also met with county program organizer Barb Leffler a few times to practice interview questions to help her with talking in front of people and answering questions.

“I’m super excited,” Bracamonte said. “It’s a little nerve-racking, but for the most part, I’m really just excited to meet the girls and spend time with all of them and also just excited to be there, learning new things.”

After bonding with contestants on Tuesday, Bracamonte will practice the fitness, dance and other onstage portions today. Thursday will consist of an interview with the judges. Then Friday night, preliminary awards will be handed out, and the top 10 will be revealed. Those girls will move on to Saturday night.

“So far, I’ve definitely learned a lot about public speaking and being onstage talking to people, and that has helped just with my public speaking skills,” Bracamonte said. “But also, it has helped just to put myself out there and practice what life is going to be like after high school. Mainly just practicing all of that stuff and just being responsible, honestly, and independent.”

No matter what happens this weekend, Bracamonte said, “Truly, I just hope to take away some knowledge, some new things to learn and take with me after graduation, but also, just new friendships and connections. I’m really just excited to spend time with the girls.”

At the county competition, Bracamonte won a $4,500 scholarship and received a medal, a flower bouquet, a personal tumbler and a photo session. She earned another $400 for the self-expression category, giving her a total of $4,900 in scholarship money.

The $16,300 in scholarship money up for grabs was the most in the 29 years of the program in Jackson County and the highest in the state.

Since then, Bracamonte said she participated in the Seymour Oktoberfest parade and Medora Christmas Festival parade and also spoke to her church youth group and the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program.

During the week of the state contest, she plans to post updates on social media.

The state winner will move on to the 67th Distinguished Young Women National Finals in June in Mobile, Alabama. There, she will join 50 other representatives from across the country in competing for cash scholarships and the opportunity to represent the program as the Distinguished Young Woman of America.

After graduating from high school, Bracamonte said she plans to attend Indiana University and major in secondary education for math. She already has been directly admitted into the honors program.