America's Junior Miss was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in Mobile, Alabama.  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's Mission

The mission of America's Junior Miss (AJM) is to empower outstanding high school women by providing scholarship opportunities, developing life skills, and encouraging positive values; and to impact the lives of all young people through the Be Your Best Self outreach program.

AJM 2009 - Michelle Rodgers

In June of 2009, AJM celebrated the 52nd Annual National Finals and proudly watched Michelle Rodgers of Kentucky become America's Junior Miss for 2009. Michelle's intelligence shown in her interview and on-stage Self Expression segment and the audience loved her rendition of "Taylor, the Latte Boy."  Michelle won preliminary awards in scholastics and self-expression, and ultimately the title of AJM 2009. 

Michelle will attend Northwestern University to study theater (her passion), business (as a practical matter), and Spanish (to prepare her for a future Peace Corps stint in a Spanish-speaking country).

AJM History

AJM was founded in Mobile, Alabama by the city’s Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Jaycees. In the late 1950’s, the Jaycees 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 to symbolize their achievements in the classroom and in extracurricular activities. There are no fees to enter the program.

AJM's Be Your Best Self Program

AJM promotes the Be Your Best Self program, an outreach aimed at encouraging self-esteem in young people from all over the country. BYBS emphasizes five elements: Be Healthy, Be Studious, Be Responsible, Be Ambitious, and Be Involved. Junior Misses make appearances across the country to share the message of the BYBS program and encourage young people to implement these five elements into their own lives.