FDA senior creating change
Published 2:26 pm Tuesday, July 22, 2014
By Morgan Burkett
The Greenville Advocate
As the old saying goes: Be the change you wish to see in the world.
Holland Steadham is set to be that change.
This summer, Steadham was chosen as the only student from Alabama to join the Lott Leadership Program. Sen. Trent Lott from Mississippi founded a program for upcoming senior high school students to live at the University of Mississippi and experience college life. After four weeks, the group of students traveled to Washington, D.C., and volunteered at So Others May Eat — a local soup kitchen.
“Once we got there, all that was there were veterans,” said Steadham. “Seeing these people made me realize that it could have been any of us in need and that we take so many things for granted.”
This experience led Steadham to found Experiencing Community by Helping Others at Fort Dale Academy.
The club is open to sophomores through seniors and is focused on community service.
“I am just now starting the club this year,” Steadham said. “But if we are allowed to, I am planning to have a benefit for some of the DHR families who take in foster children, and also find needy families around the community and cook a Thanksgiving meal for them.”
Holland Steadham is one of eight seniors from across the county competing for the title of Butler County’s Distinguished Young Woman. (Courtesy Photo)
The Fort Dale Academy senior is also planning to make a difference in the Distinguished Young Women Program this year as one of the participants.
She is one of eight contestants from across the county competing for the title of Butler County’s Distinguished Young Woman.
Contestants will compete in five categories: scholastics, interview, talent, fitness and self-expression.
The interview and talent portions of the competition will count for 25 percent of the contestant’s score, while the scholastics portion will count for 20 percent and fitness and self-expression will each count for 15 percent of the overall score.
This year’s competition will be held at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Ritz Theatre in Greenville.
DYW is a scholarship program that was founded in 1958 in Mobile. It is the largest and oldest national scholarship program for high school girls.
