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Molly Bohannon knows the Distinguished Young Women organization has made an impact on her life.

The Morgan Academy senior said participating in the organization has helped her from developing confidence in herself and developing lifelong friendships to earning scholarships that will help her pursue a college degree.

“It has given me so much confidence being in DYW,” Bohannon said. “The DWY competition consists of talent, self expression, fitness and interview. It’s been good for me to help get me out there and build up confidence in myself. I’ve also made so many friends, and I’m hoping to maåke more friendships for life. And the scholarships will go a long way to helping me with college. It’s been a great experience for me.”

Bohannon, the Dallas County Distinguished Young Woman winner in 2024, and is now preparing to go to the state competition in Montgomery on Sunday to prepare for the state competition on Jan. 24-25 at Frazer Church in Montgomery.

Tickets for the event are available at distinguisheddyw.org/programs/alabama. The Friday preliminaries are on Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. followed by the Saturday preliminaries on Jan. 25 at 1 p.m. The finals are Jan. 25 at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the preliminaries are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Finals tickets are $30 in advance or $35 at the door. A weekend pass is $65 in advance or $70 at the door.

Bohannon said Dallas County DYW gave her a send-off last weekend while Morgan Academy appeared like they would do something later in the week.

“My school and the DYW program have been so good to me and so encouraging,” Bohannon said. “I really appreciate everything they have done for me.”

The DYW program wasn’t new to Bohannon. She had participated in the little sisters’ program as a junior, but she wasn’t sure that she wanted to compete as a senior. However, her sister, Abby, may have helped convince her to compete as a senior.

“I think (Abby) really regretted not doing it her senior year,” Bohannon said. “So I decided to give it a try, and I have loved being a part of this and then getting the opportunity to represent Dallas County at the state level.”

To prepare for state, Bohannon said her family got a karaoke machine for her to practice her talent: singing. At the county competition, she performed Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love.”

“God gave me the gift of singing, so I wanted to share that gift through this competition,” she said.

However, she is changing her song for state. She is using this as an opportunity to honor her late classmate, Caden Tellier, by singing the worship song “Goodness of God.”

“I just wanted to use this as an opportunity to let everyone know about Caden and the impact that he has made on our school,” Bohannon said. “Our school and community has come together because of what happened. I just want to dedicate the song to him as a way to honor that and to let people know what God has done in our lives.”

Bohannon said she is thankful for the impact that her family, especially her parents, Sean and Dana Bohannon, her sister and her two brothers, Cameron and William, have made on her life.

“My mom is a singer as well, so she has really helped me especially with preparing for my talent competition,” Bohannon said. “My sister has also been really great helping me prepare. And I look up to my older brother and my younger brother too. I kinda wish I could be like them in some ways. My boyfriend has been so supportive of me. Everyone has really been supportive.I just feel so much love.”