Madison Mattos, Oakdale’s Distinguished Young Woman, showcased her talent, fitness, and public speaking abilities at the Distinguished Young Women of California Class of 2025 State Finals in Bakersfield on July 21. Mattos joined 22 upcoming high school seniors from all over California for the competition consisting of five categories: Scholastics, Interview, Fitness, Talent, and Self Expression.
For the off-stage portion of the competition, the participants’ academic records were evaluated by a collegiate level educator and they received a 10-minute personal interview with the program’s five judges. The on-stage portion included an aerobic fitness routine, talent performance, and response to a question given to them 24 hours in advance.
In the Fitness category, Mattos skillfully executed a high energy routine that included squats, kicks, planks, and pushups. For the talent category, she performed Shimmering Prelude by Melody Bober on the piano. Finally, Mattos displayed her public speaking abilities with confidence in the Self Expression category when she answered the question, “If you could change places with a historical figure for one day, who would it be and why?” With a career goal of becoming a wildlife veterinarian, Mattos explained that she would change places with conservation and animal welfare activist Jane Goodall when she founded the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 to learn from her and bring back sustainable plans to help care for the environment.
Mattos was selected by her fellow participants for one of two Spirit awards earning a $250 college scholarship. Her award was presented by Oakdale’s Distinguished Young Woman Class of 2024 Grace Miller who had won the award the previous year and returned as a “Has Been” to help with the showcase. A total of $11,000 in college scholarships were awarded.
Tanisha Patil of Central San Diego was named California’s Distinguished Young Woman for the Class of 2025.
Mattos and her fellow participants spent a week in Bakersfield preparing for the competition as well as participating in life skills workshops with guest speakers including the mayor of Bakersfield. They also performed community service activities with children at the local Boys and Girls Club.
“At the state level, everyone is so dedicated and hardworking including the girls, the volunteers, and everyone else that makes the production incredible. I felt so lucky to be surrounded by such a driven group,” Mattos shared. “In this process, I not only gained experience for many real-life situations as an upcoming senior, but I also gained 22 extremely talented and impressive friends along the way. I am forever thankful for this opportunity!”
Oakdale’s program is sponsored by Soroptimist International of Oakdale. The next local program for the Class of 2026 will be held in 2025 and is open to junior class girls that reside within the 95361 zip code or attend an Oakdale high school. For more information about Distinguished Young Women, visit www.DistinguishedYW.org.
For more information about Soroptimist International of Oakdale, visit www.sioakdale.org, Oakdale Soroptimist Facebook, and soroptimist_of_oakdale Instagram.
