Outstanding young men and distinguished young women at PHS

Portage High School has two unique scholarship programs that take place in our auditorium each year that recognizes the accomplishments of the young men and women of our school community. The Outstanding Young Man and the Distinguished Young Woman programs present more than $20,000 in scholarships yearly. The Distinguished Young Woman program is a National Program; however, the Outstanding Young Man program is unique to PHS. These programs demonstrate the commitment we have to showcase the successes and achievements of our juniors and seniors.

On Feb. 4, 29 senior boys competed in the Outstanding Young Man (OYM) competition which celebrated its 21st year. Joe Stevens, a former Portage High School teacher and mentor to many students began this program in 1992. Mr. Stevens was committed to highlighting the many talents of our young men and women. This tradition still continues today at PHS.

The standards of evaluation are the Judges' conference (30 percent) which is an individual interview, academics (10 percent), physical segment (20 percent), casual segment (20 percent), and presentation and address (20 percent) where each candidate appears on stage in a tuxedo and addresses his goals in life. The involvement of the candidates in the program is a perfect example of the commitment to excellence which helps shape our students into the leaders of tomorrow. All of the participants have the qualities and characteristics that make up the total Outstanding Young Man.

Every senior boy who participates is a winner. Besides the YMCA membership, other cash prizes and gifts, the boys create new friendships, special memories of their senior year, and a feeling of accomplishment. Congratulations to all the participants and their families. Marko Pekovic, Student Body President, earned the top honors and the prestigious honor of Portage's 2012 Outstanding Young Man. Cor Braner is our first finalist, second finalist is Ken Guerra, third finalist is Othie Freeny, and Max Zmija rounded out the competition as our fourth finalist. Many other seniors won awards in the other categories. Overall, it was a great evening and many outstanding young men at Portage High School earned scholarships to help further their education.

This May our junior ladies will be competing for the honor of Distinguished Young Woman at Portage High School. We wish Kacie McGuire, last year's winner, good luck as she represents PHS at the DYW State Competition later this month. Formerly titled Junior Miss, our Distinguished Young Woman began in 1982. In the 30 years of existence, Portage's Junior Misses went on to win the state title as Indiana's Junior Miss on two occasions. Julie Witka (1992) and Krissy Jones (2007) competed in the National Junior Miss Program representing Indiana and Portage. We are very proud of both of our scholarship programs and these are unique to Portage High School.

This column solely represents the writer's opinion.