Santa Rosa teen first runner-up in national scholarship contest

Santa Rosa’s Catherine Liang begins her freshman year at the University of Southern California next month with a partial scholarship, and after finishing as first runner-up at the national Distinguished Young Women contest over the weekend she’ll have even more scholarship money.

The new Maria Carrillo High School graduate finished second Saturday night during the final round of a national competition that brought 51 high school-aged women from across the country to Mobile, Alabama, to complete for thousands of dollars in scholarship money. There was one woman from each state and the District of Columbia represented.

A student of classical piano for 12 years, Liang won the state title last year in Bakersfield and wowed the national judges with a rendition of Chopin’s “Fantaisie-Impromptu.”

“It can get a little nerve-wracking performing for hundreds of thousands of people, not only in a theater but those watching it livestreamed,” she said by phone on Sunday from the Mobile airport, where she was saying goodbye to her parents, Quwei Xie and Fan Liang of Santa Rosa. She intends to stay on longer.

“But I got to showcase my piece in a beautiful blue dress with a train that my mother designed for me,” she said. “I absolutely felt like a princess in it.”

Skye Bork of the District of Columbia took the top honor as Distinguished Young Woman of America. The title comes with a $30,000 scholarship.

But Liang, 17, who won $19,000 in scholarship money, was thrilled to be second.

“The woman who won is absolutely my best friend,” Liang said. “She is the sweetest person. I was happy just to walk away with scholarship money. But more important are the lifelong lessons I will never forget.”

The Distinguished Young Women contest was founded in 1958 as America’s Junior Miss. Previous national winners include former ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer (1963), while actress Debra Messing (1986) and TV personality Deborah Norville (1977) won state competitions. For a time the California state competition was held in Santa Rosa.

The Junior Miss name was changed in 2010 to distinguish it from more traditional pageants where appearance is a bigger factor. Distinguished Young Women contestants are not judged in bathing suits, although there is a strong fitness component.

In addition to the $15,000 first runner-up prize, the contest gives out separate $1,000 awards in the preliminary rounds in five different areas: scholarship, fitness, self expression, talent and personal interview. Liang swept all but the scholarship award.

“They try to make this not just about competition but being engaged in a community,” said Liang, who spent her year as California’s Distinguished Young Woman by serving in her own community of Santa Rosa. During “Be Your Best Week,” she returned to her old elementary school, Hidden Valley, and gave a presentation to fourth- through sixth-graders.

“The biggest thing I wanted them to take away is that their dreams aren’t impossible if they work hard at being healthy and making sure they’re focused on academics,” Liang said.

In high school she started a chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America, was on the varsity swim team and a photographer for the campus newspaper.

She plans to major in international relations with an eye on becoming a human rights attorney.