This spring, Beaver County was filled with talent, formal wear and scholarships. Two large events were held for both male and female students of Beaver County. The 54th annual Beaver County Distinguished Young Women (DYW) and the annual Mr. Beaver County competitions were the talk of the community over the month of April. Both were opportunities for either juniors or juniors and seniors to compete for scholarships.

At Central Valley High School on April 20, the Beaver County Teen Leadership Council (BCTLC) hosted Mr. Beaver County. This pageant was a county-wide event which gave junior and senior boys the opportunity to complete for a $1,000 or $500 scholarship. The pageant was held as a way to inform the people of Beaver County about drug and alcohol usage while giving male students an opportunity to earn scholarships.

12 contestants from various schools around Beaver County included Central Valley, Beaver, Western Beaver and Beaver Falls, came together to put on a two hour program. Two Freedom juniors David McKenna and Ian Moran participated in the competition. The contestants competed in physical fitness, American spirit, talent, formal wear and fish bowl questioning. Each contestant was judged on their performance, attire and overall presence. The first place winner was Bryce Allison from Western Beaver and the second place winner was Dmytri Rakovan.

On May 6, the DYW pageant was held at Beaver High School. Here, 20 female students from around Beaver County competed in a pageant for a scholarship and the name of Beaver County’s DYW. The competition began with the application process. Select juniors from different Beaver County schools were given the opportunity to apply due to their outstanding performance within school. After the application came an interview, and from there came the pageant. Here, contestants competed in formal wear, talent and interview.

Freedom’s junior Sidney Moskes competed in the completion along with 19 other students countywide.

“It was a great experience and I made a lot of good friends,” Moskes expressed when talking about competing in Beaver County’s DYW.

There were various scholarships awarded and different awards given for the various categories. The overall winner of the pageant was junior Alexis Ozimok from Hopewell High School. She’ll continue on to Pennsylvania’s DYW on Aug. 4.

Both Beaver County’s DYW and Mr. Beaver County have given young adults in the community the opportunity to step away from their regular lives to not only compete for scholarships, but to have a fun time. Mr. Beaver County was able to provide an environment that promoted drug and alcohol-free lifestyles as part of an entertaining event, but still enjoyable. Beaver County’s DYW allowed talented junior girls to compete for a scholarship all while providing them with a good time filled with new friends and pretty dresses.