The Rose Court, a tradition dating back more than 100 years, consists of seven female high school seniors across the Pasadena Area Community College District who are selected as “Princesses” and one of the seven as the “Rose Queen.” The brilliant young women become ambassadors for Pasedena, the Rose Parade, and Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses.
Every year a new court is chosen, the process being extremely rigorous. The selection takes a month, with each applicant having to go through rounds of interviews, the next one developing to be longer and more difficult. This year, over 200 people applied for the Rose Court.
Rose Court finalist Gabriella Gamboa, who attends Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, explains the process in an article with the Veritas Shield.
“As each round progressed, the interviews got much longer and the questions became more personal. The only thing that remained impersonal was my number. At the beginning of the entire process, each applicant was handed a white, glossy card with an identification number with which each would identify throughout the rest of the process,” said Gabriella. Gabriella was number 179 in the process.
Out of all the applicants, the seven chosen were Simone Ball from Arcadia High School, Saniyah Brunston from John Muir High School, Lara Georgian from Mayfield Senior School, Kate Kelly from La Cañada High School, Lisette Parker from Maranatha High School, Natalia Pradhan from Flintridge Preparatory School, and finally the Rose Queen Lindsay Charles who attends Westridge School.
These seven have dedicated their lives to the Rose Court and its demands. One of the many commitments to being on the Rose Court is their dedication to the community.
The Rose Court attends nearly 100 community and media functions, according to the official Tournament of Roses website.
One of the many community functions was this past week in Alhambra. On Tuesday, December 3, the Rose Court and members of the community joined together in celebration at the 2025 Rose Queen and Court Luncheon. At the luncheon, the Rose Court celebrated their achievements and heard from a panel of three women leaders in Alhambra – Maria Gao (Evike.com), Melissa Demirci (Transtech), and Pilar Almeida (Republic Services) – about community service and leadership.
