Three local girls went to Greensboro looking to follow 2012 Distinguished Young Woman of America Renee Maxwell as the next N.C. Distinguished Young Woman.
That honor went instead to Rutherford County’s Amie Sessoms.
But it didn’t stop Sarah Albritton, 2013 Kinston-Greene County Distinguished Young Woman, Morgan Harrison, 2013 Lenoir County Distinguished Young Woman or Layne Jenkins, 2013 Jones-Onslow County Distinguished Young Woman, from having a great time while competing with their fellow nominees.
“It was so much fun. We were super-busy all week,” Harrison said. “We did fitness every day, and we ran the whole thing every day — we had an opening number and closing number. And for self-expression, we had to learn all the choreography for that, so we were really busy the whole week. But every girl was so much fun, and that’s truly what I took away from it.”
Albritton’s mother, Anne, said her daughter may have broken a toe before her dance segment, but she still came away with a positive experience.
“I didn’t win a thing and I still had the best time of my life, so I’d recommend it to anybody who is interested,” Albritton said.
Harrison did come back with an award, winning the interview category, which counted for 25 percent of her overall performance. The stage involved a 10-minute interview and discussion with the contestant, as the judges looked for perception, values, clear expression, concern and ability at human relations.
For Jenkins, what made the competition was meeting and getting to know everyone else who participated.
“What I enjoyed the most about it was getting to know the girls and, really, experiencing the entire week with them — being wide-open about the whole experience,” Jenkins said.
With the win, Sessoms moves on to the national competition in June in Mobile, Ala.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.