DYW ‘awesome experience’ for Marshall

Backstage in Montgomery, as names were called and lights went up onstage, a Franklin County woman was among three local woman doing the unexpected — cheering just as loudly for their competitors as they did for themselves.

For Aidyn Kate Marshall of Franklin County, Faith South of Colbert County and Ryn Davis of Lauderdale County, Alabama’s Distinguished Young Women program has become more than a competitive opportunity for scholarships. The three found the DYW program was as much about fostering lifelong friendships and connections to other aspiring scholars and future leaders around the state.

“That scholarship money looked really great,” Marshall said, admitting the potential winnings were what initially drew her to compete for the title of Franklin County’s Distinguished Young Woman in September.

“But once I got there, I had so much fun,” she continued. “I kind of completely forgot about it until they started calling out the awards and how much money each winner got from them.”

“At the local level, for me, it was the scholarship money,” South agreed. “Once I moved on to the state level, I was still excited for a chance at scholarship money, but I was really excited to meet new people and do all these fun things we’ve enjoyed throughout the program.”

The three graduating seniors traveled to Montgomery in January for the DYW state competition, formerly known as America’s Junior Miss. They joined more than 40 young women from across Alabama for a weeklong program designed to challenge participants academically, physically and personally.

The state event — much like the Shoals DYW competition — evaluated participants based on their academic records as well as their performances in four categories, including interview, talent self-expression and fitness.

“I’d say it was pretty similar — except fitness,” Marshall said with a laugh. “Fitness was on a whole other level. It was crazy intense.”

A lifelong dancer, Marshall admitted she questioned whether she could keep up even before an unexpected injury complicated things further. Just days before leaving for Montgomery, she suffered an ankle strain that forced her into a medical boot.

“I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this,’” she said. “But it was fast and fun. It was still an awesome experience.”

Perhaps the most daunting rule of the state program had nothing to do with performance at all. Contestants were required to go the entire week without their phones.

“At first, it was a lot,” Marshall admitted.

But the absence of their phones quickly created space for connection — something each of the girls agreed was their greatest takeaway from the program. For the week, contestants were placed with host families and paired with roommates from other counties, sharing homes, meals and late-night conversations.

The girls used digital cameras to document their time together, filling memory cards with candid photos that might never have existed otherwise.

“It’s crazy, but if we’d had our phones, we never would have taken this many pictures,” Davis said, adding the lack of a phone likely aided in the instant bond she developed with her roommate, Julia Mitchell of Washington County.

South’s roommate, Avery Kononchek of Jefferson County, went on to place in the Top 8 and earned second alternate honors, a fact that never shifted the dynamic between them.

Marshall echoed her fellow Shoals contestants’ experiences about her own host family and roommate, Limestone County Distinguished Young Woman, Madalyn Perry.

“I feel like she’s my sister,” Marshall said. “We had a host brother, Nate. We were all around the same age, so it felt like we were triplets. We stayed up so late just listening to music and talking. I was like, ‘This is my family. I’m not leaving y’all.’” She went on to describe the event as more of a showcase than a rivalry.

“I’m sure Top 8 started to feel pretty competitive for those girls who made it,” she said. “But when you see your friends in Top 8, you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh! That’s my friend!’” “Yeah, it’s like we all were there just to have a good time,” South chimed in. “We were in a back room behind the stages, and at one point, we were cheering even louder than the crowd.”

Marshall received the “You Got This” Award. The honor in memory of the late DYW state board member Marcia Johnson is accompanied by a $500 scholarship in recognition of the recipient’s positivity in the face of adversity.

Due to her ankle sprain days before the state program, Marshall was forced to shift gears last minute and choose a new talent to perform for the judges.

“I was going to do pointe ballet, but I ended up having to sing,” she said. “I’ve never sang in front of more than like 30 people, but I did it. When I came off the stage, all the girls were cheering, ‘Let’s go Boot!’” Marshall feels endeared by the nickname, and though she didn’t walk away with a talent prize, she feels the Marcia Johnson award is more significant.

“It’s really important to me, and I hope I did her name justice,” Marshall said. “I hope they saw her through me, and I hope they see it even without the boot.”

As graduation approaches, all three seniors are making plans for college and beyond.

Davis plans to attend the University of Alabama before pursuing a doctorate in optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.Southisdeciding between the University of North Alabama and Samford University with plans to major in mass communications and minor in digital marketing.

Marshall expects to commit to UNA, where she plans to study nursing before continuing to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.