Bella Ballard of Altadena crowned 2023 Rose Queen – Press Telegram

Bella Ballard was named the 104th Rose Queen during a ceremony on the front steps of Tournament House on Tuesday, October 25.

Here are some photos from the evening while we await the announcement 👀 pic.twitter.com/ViV3oPBurT

— Brennon Dixon (@TheBrennonD) October 26, 2022

Ballard, a senior at The Ogburn School – a distance learning school – lives in Altadena where she volunteers with Ronald McDonald House Charities, is a volunteer soccer coach for Chelsea FC, a soccer player for the Santa Clara Blue Heat Soccer Club, West Coast Soccer Club, Venice Beach Soccer Club and tennis player at Arroyo Seco and Flint Canyon Tennis Club.

She enjoys reading, calligraphy, collecting vinyl, playing chess, and studying astronomy and astrophysics. She enjoys reading, calligraphy, collecting vinyl records, playing chess, and studying astronomy and astrophysics.

The royal court — full of seasoned teenagers — is also now set: Salia Bali of Pasadena, a senior at Alverno Heights Academy for Girls; Michelle Cortez-Peralta of Pasadena, a senior at Pasadena High School; Adrian Crick of Altadena, a senior at Sequoyah School; Zoe Denancourt of Pasadena, a senior at Marshall Fundamental; Sahana Rajinikanthan of Arcadia, a senior at Arcadia High School; and Uma Wittenberg of La Cañada Flintridge, a senior at La Cañada High School.

Ballard’s selection followed a month-long process that involved students from 30 Pasadena schools participating in interviews.

Royal court was selected based on a combination of qualities, including public speaking ability, academic achievement, youth leadership and community and school involvement.

Ballard, daughter of Joseph and Angela Ballard and sister to Samantha, will attend Yale in the fall, where she hopes to study economics, law or astrophysics.

The history of the Queen of Roses dates back to 1905, when Holly Woods was chosen to ride in carriages down the Colorado Boulevard. Since then, the Rose Queens have enjoyed widespread success.

From May Sutton, the queen in 1908, the first American player to win a singles title at Wimbledon, to the queen in 2000, Sophia Bush, a People’s Choice Award-nominated actor for her role in Chicago Cop.

Today, the 1940 Rose Queen, Margaret Huntley Mayne, is the longest-living queen at 101 years old. From Northern California, she was scheduled to watch Bella Ballard’s coronation live on the Tournament of Roses YouTube channel.

As in previous years, this year’s Royal Court contestants are selected based on a combination of qualities, including public speaking ability, youth leadership, academic achievement and community and school involvement, according to Tournament of Roses officials. Each member will also receive an educational stipend of $7,500.