Participants
Distinguished Young Women participants come from all walks of life, but they have one thing in common: the desire to succeed. Below are the Distinguished Young Women of California participants for the Class of 2021.
Want to participate? Apply now!
Carissa Sales
Bakersfield
City: Bakersfield
College Preference: Cal Poly San Louis Obispo
Career Goals: Nutritionist/Dietitian
Talent: Classical Ballet Variation
Jessica Shiflett
Camarillo
City: Camarillo
College Preference: UC Berkeley, UCLA
Career Goals: Entrepreneur, Coder
Talent: Thai Classical Dance (Nora, by Originated in India)
Skyla Nelson
Carlsbad
City: Carlsbad
College Preference: Undecided
Career Goals: Nursing, ASL
Talent: Contemporary dance (All I Ask - Adele, by Juli Yamanaka)
Cynthia Zhang
Central San Diego County
City: San Diego
College Preference: MIT
Career Goals: Cybersecurity Engineer
Talent: Piano (Black Keys Etude, by Frédéric Chopin)
Ashley Gong
Cerritos-Artesia
City: Cerritos
College Preference: UCLA, UC Berkeley
Career Goals: Psychology of Business
Talent: Singing (Skyfall, by Adele)
Natalie Mariscal
Clovis
City: Fresno
College Preference: UCI
Career Goals: Physican Assistant
Talent: Singing
Karina Li
Cypress
City: Cypress
College Preference: Stanford University, UCLA
Career Goals: Information Technology Professional
Talent: Chinese Folk Dance (Ling's Dance Academy, by Ling Jin)
Janine Jiang
Danville
City: Danville
College Preference: top-notch college
Career Goals: STEM
Talent: Piano (Isle Joyeuse, by Claude Debussy)
Caroline Hamm
Del Norte County
City: Crescent City
College Preference: University of Oregon
Career Goals: Dietitian
Talent: Lyrical/Contemporary Dance (Try, by Colbie Caillat)
Randi Joaquino
Delano
City: Delano
College Preference: UCSD
Career Goals: Become a dermatologist
Talent: Dance (Tap, by Barbie Rodriguez)
Sage Saling
East Los Angeles County
City: Los Angeles
College Preference: University of Michigan, Columbia
Career Goals: United Nations Women, Theatrical Performer
Talent: Vocal Performance (I Miss the Mountains from Next to Normal , by Tom Kitt)
Nicole Zakharyan
Fresno
City: Fresno
College Preference: University of California, Riverside
Career Goals: Physician
Talent: Singing (Мы едем в далекие края, by N/A)
Isabella Caputo
Greater Bakersfield
City: Bakersfield
College Preference: Undecided
Career Goals: Business
Talent: Piano (Harry Potter Medley, by John Williams, arranged by Isabella Caputo)
Vivian Chung
Greater San Diego County
City: San Diego
College Preference: UC Berkeley
Career Goals: Pharmaceutical Engineer/ Biomedical Engineer
Talent: Stand Up Comedy ("Why do Parents have Children?", by Original)
Shriya Selvakumar
Inland San Diego County
City: San Diego
College Preference: Undecided
Career Goals: Science and Technology
Talent: Bharatanatyam (Thillana , by Suba)
Brianna Tang
Irvine
City: Irvine
College Preference: Standford, University of Pennsylvania
Career Goals: Businesswoman and/or Computer Scientist
Talent: Baking
Nina Lidar
Los Angeles County
City: La Canada Flintridge
College Preference: Brown University
Career Goals: Lawyer
Talent: Singing (La Vie en Rose, by Edith Piaf)
Madeline Glave
North Los Angeles County
City: Encino
College Preference: University of Michigan, Elon University
Career Goals: Actress-Singer-Dancer
Talent: Singing (Once Upon A Time, by From the Musical Brooklyn)
Jadyn Rau
Oakdale
City: Oakdale
College Preference: Stanford University
Career Goals: Anesthesiologist
Talent: Tap Dance (Singing in the rain, by Self)
Wai Yan Fong
Pittsburg
City: Pittsburg
College Preference: Yale University, Princeton University
Career Goals: Educator
Talent: Guzheng (Lament of Lin'an, by Jiliang Lin)
Ashley Youm
Placentia
City: Placentia
College Preference: Rice Univeersity
Career Goals: Criminologist
Talent: Hip-Hop (Rap God , by Eminem )
Julia Adey
Pleasanton
City: Pleasanton
College Preference:
Career Goals:
Talent: Poetry (Societal standards of women, by Julia Adey)
Kate MacPherson
Roseville
City: Roseville
College Preference: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC Santa Barbara
Career Goals: International Relations, Communications
Talent: Irish fusion dance (Gaelic Storm , by Choreographed by Melissa O\'Sullivan Castillo)
Sofia Gaxiola
San Diego
City: San Diego
College Preference: Berkeley, UCLA
Career Goals: Neurobiology & Health/Nutrition
Talent: Vocal (Fly me to the Moon, by Frank Sinatra)
Angela Tsang
San Jose
City: San Jose
College Preference: IU, USC
Career Goals: Computational Biology, Piano
Talent: Classical Piano (Etude Op. 10 No. 12, Revolutionary, by Fryderyk Chopin)
Michelle Shen
Santa Rosa
City: Santa Rosa
College Preference: University of California, Berkeley
Career Goals: Biomedical Engineer
Talent: ballet (Lilac Fairy variation, by choreographed by Marius Petipa)
Shelbee Ramos
Shafter
City: Shafter
College Preference: Oxnard College
Career Goals: Dental Hygienist
Talent: Vocal "All I Ask" by Adele
Chizaram Izima
South Los Angeles County
City: Norwalk
College Preference: Johns Hopkins University, UC San Diego
Career Goals: Neurologist or Physician Assistant
Talent: Singing (A Change is Gonna Come, by Sam Cook)
Lilyane Stessman
Turlock
City: Turlock
College Preference: UC Berkeley
Career Goals: Computer Science
Talent: Piano (Sonatina Op.88 No.3, by Friedrich Kuhlau)
Suzanne Wheeler
West Los Angeles County
City: Torrance
College Preference: CalTech, Cal Poly SLO
Career Goals: Ankle Surgeon, Sports Medicine
Talent: Dance (It's Oh So Quiet, by Bjork)
