Meet York County's 2022 Distinguished Young Women; winner calls it an 'incredible bonus'

Teresa Boeckel, York Daily Record
·4 min read

Update: Paige Langmead of Dallastown Area High School was named Distinguished Young Woman during the competiton.

Langmead, who will be a senior in the fall, said her sister, Hannah, participated in the program several years ago and saw it as a great opportunity to meet other young women. Her sister has remained friends with some of the competitors.

Everyone was excited to participate in the program, Langmead said. They had fun hanging out together, and she felt included and welcomed the whole time.

Winning the scholarship competition was an "incredible bonus," she said.

"I will never feel like I was any more deserving to win that than any of them," Langmead said. "They were all just so amazing."

She will now head to Pittsburgh for the state competition to be held Aug. 4 through 6.

Here are the other winners:

  • First runner up: Ava Markel of Dallastown Area High School

  • Second runner up: Quinn Starrett of Red Land High School

  • Third runner up: Kya Toms of Central York High School

  • Fourth runner up: Emma White of Dallastown Area High School

  • Spirit Award: Quinn Starrett of Red Land High School

  • Leadership Award: Mya Minnich of Northeastern High School; Kailee Heininger of Central York High School; Kylie Snelbaker of Dover Area High School; Rachel Kaintz of South Western High School and Gracie Shaub of Spring Grove Area High School

  • Be Your Best Self: Paige Langmead of Dallastown Area High School

  • Self Expression: Quinn Starrett of Red Land High School and Ava Markel of Dallastown Area High School

  • Fitness: Natalie Cottrell of Dallastown Area High School and Morgan Kaylor of Red Lion Area High School

  • Talent: Anna Smith and Emma White, both of Dallastown Area High School

  • Scholastics: Ava Markel of Dallastown Area High School and Alexa Viands of Susquehannock High School

  • Interview: Paige Langmead of Dallastown Area High School and Angelina Fontana of Spring Grove Area High School

Reported on May 26:

The annual Distinguished Young Women of York County scholarship program returns to its regularly scheduled time in May this year after being disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Thirty young women from around York County have been selected for the program, which is mainly based on academic achievement. Nearly $40,000 in scholarships will be awarded this year.

"It is a life-changing experience for these young women," said Lyn Bergdoll, program chair.

It offers the high school students lessons that they can take with them to college and beyond. For example, the program works with them on public speaking and interview skills.

The 57th annual event will be held at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, May 29, at The Pullo Center in York. Tickets are $22, and they are available online at pullocenter.york.psu.edu.

The West York High School Jazz Ensemble and the York County Junior Honors Choir will perform.

The program evaluates each participant on scholastics, interview, talent, fitness and self-expression, according to the Distinguished Young Women program. Winners of the local event advance to the state level. The national finals are held in Mobile, Alabama.

The program had to be held virtually in 2020 and in-person later in the summer of 2021 because of the pandemic.

In 2020:Popular York County program didn't make it to the stage, but winner named

Read more:West York student claims top scholarship in York's Distinguished Young Women competition

Here is the list of this year’s finalists (name, school, talent):

Emilyn Bedell, York Suburban, violin

Natalie Cottrell, Dallastown, poetry

Ellie Dunaja, Susquehannock, dance

Ivy Elder, Red Lion, vocal

Gabrielle Etter, Spring Grove, vocal

Angelina Fontana, Spring Grove, spoken word

Kaylee Gorsegner, Central York, gymnastics

Kailee Heininger, Central York, poetry

Alivia John, Central York, piano

Rachel Kaintz, South Western, clarinet

Morgan Kaylor, Red Lion, dance

Hayley Kennedy, Red Land, vocal

Hannah Kuhn, York Suburban, vocal

Paige Langmead, Dallastown, vocal

Payton Lutz, Central York, vocal

Ava Markel, Dallastown, public speaking

Mya Minnich, Northeastern, dance

Magdalene Motter, York Catholic, vocal

Lexi Rinehart, Spring Grove, dance

Sydney Rudisill, York Country Day, vocal/piano

Gracie Shaub, Spring Grove, vocal/guitar

Anna Smith, Dallastown, harp

Kylie Snelbaker, Dover, vocal

Quinn Starrett, Red Land, vocal

Faith Stewart, York Suburban, gymnastics

Kya Toms, Central York, dance

Alexa Viands, Susquehannock, vocal

Emma White, Central York, vocal performance

Katrina Wolfe, Dallastown, cello

Stella Wolfe, York Country Day, cello

The major scholarship sponsors for the York County program are:

  • The W. Dale Brougher Foundation

  • Jack Giambalvo Family of Dealerships

  • York College of Pennsylvania

  • Chloé Eichelberger

  • Win Bradley

  • Traditions Bank

  • Shipley Energy

  • Glatfelter Insurance Group

  • The Financial Advisory Group

  • Reliance Student Transportation

  • The Arthur J. and Lee R. Glatfelter Foundation

  • OAK Leadership

  • Coni Wolf

  • Lauren Randall Buckley & Family

  • Business Information Group (BIG)

  • WellSpan Health

  • The Graham Group

  • PeoplesBank

  • Adrenaline Dance of York

  • Karin Tsai

  • Jessica Richardson

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Distinguished Young Women of York County to award $40,000 in scholarships