Three area high school seniors have been named recipients of the 2009 Young Women of Distinction Awards, presented by the Greater Rochester Women's Council, an affiliate of the Rochester Business Alliance.

The top honor - the Young Women of Distinction ATHENA Scholar - and a $3,000 scholarship was awarded to Jingwen Hu of Brighton High School.

Two other recipients - Jordana Gilman of Brighton High School and Olivia Lee of Penfield High School - were named Young Women of Distinction Scholars, which carry a prize of $1,500 scholarships for each.

Given Honorable Mention, and $750 scholarships, were Maia Fitzstevens, a senior at Rochester's East High School, and Carly Britton, a senior at Webster Thomas High School.

In addition, these young women will be awarded their choice of internships at PAETEC, Entre Computers, Next Step Magazine, Susan B. Anthony House, or Kirtas Technologies Inc.

The five young women were selected from 15 finalists culled from 165 nominations from around the region.

Young Women of Distinction, modeled on the prestigious ATHENA Award, recognizes area high school juniors or seniors who have demonstrated superior academic performance, community service and leadership qualities.

The awards were presented this evening at a dessert reception at the Rochester Crowne Plaza Hotel downtown. The keynote speaker was the 2009 ATHENA recipient, Holly Hilberg, chief technology officer and vice president of Carestream Health, Inc.

Sponsors for the event were Entre Computer Services, Harter, Secrest & Emery, Hazba Architect, HCR, HSBC, John D. and Seana Holtz Foundation, Kirtas Technologies, Inc., Next Step Magazine, PAETEC, Robert Wayland Smith, Rochester Institute of Technology, Sam's Wholesale Club, UBS Financial Services Inc., Veritas Financial, and Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP.