For Immediate Release
Contact: Vicki Daulton, Chairman of Virginia’s Junior Miss Program
Phone: 540-354-1363
E-mail: vajm@verizon.net

Virginia Teen Receives Scholarships

Divya Srinivasan of Oakhill won the title of Virginia’s Junior Miss 2009 on December 7 during the Virginia’s Junior Miss Scholarship Program in Salem. Srinivasan won $4650 in cash scholarships and the opportunity to travel to Mobile, Alabama, to participate in the 52nd AJM National Finals. During the National Finals, Srinivasan will compete with representatives from the other 49 states for the opportunity to become America's Junior Miss 2009 and for a share of more than $150,000 in cash scholarships.

Even if Srinivasan doesn’t win any cash scholarships at the 52nd AJM National Finals in Mobile, she’ll receive opportunities to attend school with a full scholarship to several colleges and universities across the nation, including the University of South Alabama, Auburn University, University of Alabama, and Troy University. For a complete listing of college scholarships available to Srinivasan and other Junior Misses, visit www.ajm.org/about/scholarships.

Srinivasan competed with fourteen other young women on December 7, each of which is a high school senior from across the state of Virginia. Runners up included Sarah Lily and Amber Rosser. Scholarships in various categories were also awarded to: Caroline Ballard and Emily Blake.

The 52nd AJM National Finals will take place on June 25, 26 and 27, 2009, in Mobile, Alabama. Representatives from each state will travel to Mobile to compete for more than $150,000 in cash scholarships and the opportunity to become America's Junior Miss 2009. Lindsey Brinton of Salt Lake City, Utah, won the 2008 title.

Virginia’s Junior Miss Scholarship Program is an official preliminary of America’s Junior Miss (AJM), the oldest and largest scholarship program for high school senior females of its type. Since 1958, AJM has awarded more than $90 million in cash scholarships and provided thousands of young women with college granted scholarships to colleges and universities across the nation.

In addition to providing scholarships, AJM challenges each participant to share its national outreach program, Be Your Best Self (BYBS), with young people across the nation. Through BYBS, Junior Misses encourage self esteem and excellence in all young people through the program’s five principles: Be healthy, Be Involved, Be Studious, Be Ambitious, and Be Responsible.

The 2008 - 2009 National Sponsors for AJM are the City of Mobile and Mobile County. Category sponsors are Alabama Power, Encore Rehabilitation, Mobile Gas, and Regions Bank. For more information on AJM, contact Cassidy Grimes, Public Relations Director, at (800) 256-5435 or visit the AJM Web site at www.ajm.org.

~AJM~