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KIDS WHO CARE
Malee Davidson
Leigh Ramsey
Though she’s no stranger to the stage, this
past year Malee Davidson of Ridgeland got a
new experience on the platform, participating
in the Distinguished Young Women program.
Malee is the daughter of John Davidson of
Davidson Bowie Law Firm, and Marisa
Davidson, CEO of Mississippi Health Partners.
Malee has a 15-year-old brother, Ty Davidson
who attends Jackson Prep.
Distinguished Young Women is a national
program in which young ladies compete during
their junior year of high school. They present to
the judges their strengths in several categories,
including scholastics, talent, self-expression,
physical fitness, and interview. One of the reasons
Malee decided to compete was to continue a
legacy. Her mother, Marisa Davidson, was the
winner of this program when it was called
“Junior Miss of Madison County”.
Malee competed in the local competition
and won the scholastics, talent, self-expression,
and interview categories of the program. She
was also named Distinguished Young Woman
of Madison County. This honor comes with
rewards of college scholarships and wonderful
new friendships and experiences. During the
winner’s senior year, they also carry the
responsibility of participating in service
projects and being held as a community role
model. They are also responsible for guiding the
girls who are participating in the program the
following year and helping host the competition
the next year. Winners of the local competition
move on to compete at a state level.
Distinguished Young Women is a program
that focuses on “Be Your Best Self.” The specific
areas of focus are being healthy, being ambitious,
being involved, being studious, and being
responsible. The state competition required
participants to submit a video project focused on
the “Be Your Best Self” message. Malee shared
that throughout her childhood, she spent many
years at the local library, and credits that
experience with giving her a love of reading.
She wanted to inspire other young readers, so
she created bumble bee craft bags that included
the Be Your Best Self message. Children could
pick up one of these bags and take them home
to read about the message and do a small craft.
At the state competition, Malee was the
scholastic and talent preliminary winner. She
also placed in the top ten. When talking about
her time competing at a state level, Malee shared
with admiration, “By the time the competition
started, competing wasn’t even the main focus
anymore.” She shared how valuable the
experience was and how much she cherishes
the memories and the friendships she made.
Outside of the Distinguished Young
Women program, Malee is very involved at her
school. She is now a senior at Madison Ridgeland
Academy. She is on the student council, is the
dance team captain and is involved in the
performing arts program and in choir. Her
school participated in a musical theater
competition at the Orpheum in Memphis this
past year called the “High School Musical
Theatre Awards.” Ms. Davidson was named
Outstanding Featured Actress for her role as
Amayzing Mayzie in “Seussical the Musical.”
She learned she had won this title while she
was on a trip to Germany with her history
teacher. During the trip, they visited Germany,
Munich, Bavaria, Italy, Austria, and France.
They spent twelve days studying the culture
and history of these European countries.
When Malee was asked if she had anything else
she wanted to say about the Distinguished
Young Women program, she said she wanted to
make sure she took this opportunity to give a
shout-out of gratitude to Barbie Bassett, who
guided her through the DYW process from the
local competition to the state competition.
Malee advised any young ladies interested in
this program to go into it with a good attitude
and understand it is a learning process that
involves hard work and great reward. For more
information on the Distinguished Young
Women program, visit distinguishedyw.org.
Hometown MADISON • 21