Two Delaware County students were recognized as one of the Zonta Club of Columbus’ 2017 Outstanding Young Women award recipient.
Kira Barr of Olentangy Orange High School and Tess Perry of Rutherford B. Hayes High School attended the reception at the Worthington Hills Country Club on Sunday.
The club selected 12 women based on their excellence in academics, leadership and service to their school and community. The other recipients were: Shalyn Brown of Amanda-Clearcreek High School; Holly Cordray of Central Crossing High School; Olivia George of Bishop Hartley High School; Emerson Goldenbagen of Pickerington High School Central; Renae Higgins of Licking Valley High School; Hannah Ong of Thomas Worthington High School; Mina Shahinfar of Columbus School for Girls; Maria Shappert of Ohio Virtual Academy; Amina Yerrow of Fort Hayes Art and Academic High School; and Elizabeth Zinn of Grove City High School.
Barr was among the three of the recipients who received financial awards: Barr received $1,000; while George received $250 and Ong received $500. The club will nominate Barr for Zonta International’s Young Women in Public Affairs award, which awards the top district recipient with $1,000 and the top ten international recipients with $4,000 each.
Since 1980, the Zonta Club of Columbus has recognized 461 OYW award recipients from 89 high schools in Central Ohio. This year 103 Central Ohio high schools were invited to submit a nominee from their school for the award. The 52 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 Sunday were selected from the 52 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, Non-traditional Scholarship and monthly Hands-On projects.
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. Nearly 30,000 members belong to more than 1,200 Zonta Clubs in 67 countries and geographic areas.
