Buck runs for Maine America’s Junior Miss

15 years ago
ImageBy Barbara Scott
Staff Writer

    Erin Elizabeth Buck of Caribou, recently won the state preliminary for Maine America’s Junior Miss scholarship program and will compete in the national finals for the 53rd annual America’s Junior Miss on June 24-26, in Mobile.     Buck along with other contestants, all seniors in high school, from all 50 states will travel to the historic port city of Mobile, spend two weeks getting to know outstanding girls from across the country, experiencing the fun and beauty of the area, enjoying the hospitality of local and national sponsors and preparing for the National Finals competition.
    This program awards college scholarships to young women who have distinguished themselves at school and in their communities. All State Junior Misses will compete for a share of at least $150,000 in cash scholarships.
    Erin, the daughter of Steven and Pamela Buck, is a senior at Caribou High School and has been accepted at Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, Conn., where she will pursue a double major in jazz vocal performance and music business.
    America’s Junior Miss was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Mobile. More than 700,000 young women from across the nation have participated in Junior Miss programs at the local, state and national levels. In addition to cash scholarships, Junior Miss participants are eligible for college-granted scholarships from nearly 200 colleges and universities.
    AJM was founded in Mobile, by the city’s Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Jaycees. In the late 1950s, this organization established a national scholarship program and incorporated it in 1957. In 1958, Mobile was the home of the first national program, with representatives from 18 states. Today, the national program spans the country with contestants from all 50 states. More than 5,000 young women participate at the local and state levels each year.
    In addition to college scholarships, AJMs receive a medallion symbolizing their achievements in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. There are no fees to enter the program.
    America’s Junior Miss promotes the Be Your Best Self (BYBS) program, an outreach aimed at encouragin g self-esteem in young people from all over the country. BYBS emphasizes five elements: be healthy, be studious, be responsible, be ambitious and be nnvolved.
    Junior Misses make appearances across the country sharing the message of the BYBS program and encouraging young people to implement these five elements into their own lives.