Rose Princess Jamie Kwong visited Clairbourn today as the guest of second-grader Christian Marks to speak at his Show and Tell event.
After greeting the class, Jamie passed out little rose stickers to each child and explained her duties for the next year. Between now and New Year’s Day, when she gets to ride on the float down the parade route, she has to attend about 100 events in the Pasadena community.
As an ambassador of the Tournament of Roses, its her job to meet people, answer questions about the parade, explain what goes into making a float, and share what it is like to be a Rose Princess. She’s also going to be in a fashion show walking the catwalk at Macy’s in December.
As a senior in high school, when Jamie became eligible to try out for the Royal Court, she knew she had to be a part of the competition–and the public speaking skills she gained from presenting at Clairbourn’s Chapel really helped her to stand out with the judges. After being chosen, she received additional public speaking and etiquette training from the Tournament of Roses to help prepare her for her role. She also had to get a makeover where they cut off a lot of her long hair. A Rose Princess only reigns for one year, and after the big parade, the princesses and the queen visit a lot of libraries to read to children.
When a student asked her if she likes her job, she replied, “I love my job…but it’s not really a job…it is something I get to do. It keeps me really busy, I frequently have to leave school early, and I do get pretty sleepy by the end of the evening. But, I love that there are six other girls on the court, and I like making new friends.”
The students were thrilled to meet her, and Jamie explained she was equally thrilled because it was in second grade, at Clairbourn, that she became inspired by a Rose Princess who visited her class. Before leaving, she encouraged the girls to consider entering the competition themselves someday, and hoped everyone would wake up early on New Year’s day to watch the parade.
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