Camryn Eubanks was named the Distinguished Young Woman of Shafter for the Class of 2025 on Friday night.
Camryn won $2,300 in scholarships, in addition to a medal and the opportunity to represent the city at the State DYW program to be held in July in Bakersfield.
She was sponsored by Mashburn Transportation and is the daughter of Nick and Roya Eubanks.
Winning the First Alternate title was Celeste Perez, and the Second Alternate was Adriana Moreno Bravo.
The Shafter program is one of the oldest in California, having given scholarships to high school junior girls for over 40 years. The event was emceed by KGET's Shannon Pierce, assisted by the Class of 2024's DYW, Emily McGuire.
The evening was broken into different phases, with the opening of the program being the Fitness competition. That phase, won by Camryn, tested the young ladies' endurance, overall fitness and agility.
In the Self-Expression category, each participant displayed their gracefulness, as well as composure in speaking in public. The Self-Expression award went to Celeste.
In the Talent portion of the evening, each participant had three minutes to perform a talent for the attendees, usually one of the most nerve-wracking part of the evening for the parents and contestants.
This portion was won by Amalie Rosales, who performed the song "La Vie En Rose."
The Scholastic portion was won by Katie Pantoja. Lauren Givens won $800 in scholarships, winning the Spirit award, as well as one of three Excellence awards. These three awards were given to participants who best exemplified an overall performance in all of the categories.
The other Excellence awards went to Erika Montoya and Allison Figueroa.
With 16 participants vying for the title this year, the Fitness and Self-Expression was broken into two groups, with the overall winner being named out of all of the participants.
After the judging portion of the evening was done, the judges went to deliberate and the crowd enjoyed the music of the David Bloemhof Quartet and also a dance number performed by Emily McGuire, the 2024 HasBeens, the current participants and their escorts.
There was also the Rose Ceremony, a Shafter tradition. After Emily gave a touching speech, each girl then presented McGuire with a rose and a hug, allowing McGuire to say goodbye after an eventful year.
Camryn will now start a whirlwind of activities in Shafter, including cutting ribbons at local ceremonies, lighting the Christmas Tree downtown, and being involved in several more events throughout the year. She will compete in the State program on July 21 at the Fox Theater in Bakersfield.
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