Top Central Ohio High School Senior Women Honored by Zonta
COLUMBUS, OH – Earlier today, the Zonta Club of Columbus recognized their 2019 Outstanding Young Women (OYW) award recipients at a reception and ceremony at the Worthington Hills Country Club. Alexis Mahan, a 2014 Top 12 Outstanding Young Woman finalist gave an inspirational keynote address to the award recipients, family members, school officials and Zonta members in attendance. The 12 women honored were selected based on their excellence in academics, leadership, and service to their school and community.
The 2019 OYW Award Recipients are:
Madeline Ardrey – North Union High School,
Elizabeth D’sa – Bishop Watterson High School
Emai’ Daniel – Eastmoor Academy
Petrina Duffour – Columbus Alternative High School
Emma Foltz – Canal Winchester High School
Angel Francisco – Westfall High School
Trinity Langbein – Teays Valley High School
Caroline Mallory – Columbus Academy
Tuyen Quan – Westerville South High School
Bezawit Sahile – Reynoldsburg High School
Katherine White – Fairbanks High School
Sydney Winslow – Jonathan Alder High School
Three of the recipients also received financial awards; Katherine White received $250, Carolyn Mallory received $500, and Elizabeth D’sa received $1,000. Additionally, the Zonta Club of Columbus will nominate Elizabeth D’sa for Zonta International’s Young Women in Public Affairs award, which awards the top district recipient with $1,500 and the top ten international recipients with $4,000 each.
Since 1980, the Zonta Club of Columbus has recognized 485 OYW award recipients from 102 high schools in Central Ohio. This year, over 100 Central Ohio high schools were invited to submit a nominee from their school for the award. The 56 nominees submitted were invited to attend a leadership forum in February. During this forum, Zonta members facilitated discussions and activities to help the young women develop their leadership skills and transition to the next phase of their life. The 12 OYW recipients honored today were selected from the 56 nominees based on their academic achievements and awards, community service, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation and three essays.
The Zonta Club of Columbus was established in 1929 and has developed service projects tailored to promote the status of women locally. Current service projects the Zonta Club of Columbus promotes are Outstanding Young Women, Amethyst, Delaware County Turning Point domestic violence shelter, a Non-traditional Scholarship at Ohio Dominican University and a Habitat for Humanity Women’s Build. To learn more about the Zonta Club of Columbus, please visit zontacolumbus.org
Founded in 1919, Zonta International is a global service organization of executives and professionals working together to empower women and girls through service and advocacy. Zonta members volunteer their time, talents and money to local and international service projects, as well as scholarships and award programs aimed at furthering women’s education, leadership and youth development. Over 29,000 members belong to more than 1,200 Zonta Clubs in 63 countries and geographic areas.
