On March 20, senior Alyssia Menezes was crowned Lincoln’s 2023 Rose Festival Princess. For the last month of school, Menezes will fulfill a right of passage for Rose Festival Leaders: embarking on a journey full of giving back to her local community.

With college approaching in the fall, Menezes was eager to find an opportunity where she could immerse herself in the community before her departure from Oregon.

“For college, I’m going to be leaving Oregon. And I love Oregon. I love Portland,” said Menezes. “I thought it would be a really nice way to [end] my time in Portland with a bang.”

Throughout the last month of school, Menezes will be exploring the ins and outs of her Portland community.

“I’ll be taking a month off of school, during which we are representing the Rose Court [while] doing a wide variety of activities,” said Menezes. “I think the big one is going out in the community [and] learning more about serving Portland. I know we’ll go to hospitals, retirement living homes [and] things like that.”

While taking a month off of school feels a bit sad for Menezes, she believes that she will develop a deeper connection to her community as a result.

“I think it’s kind of sad, because I have to miss so much school. But I’ll be meeting with the governor and the mayor, which is really exciting,” said Menezes. “I’ll get to see behind the scenes, like government, businesses, airports, things like that. So I can just get a deeper understanding of what is really going on in our city.”

Menezes expresses immense gratitude for the opportunity to serve as this year’s Rose Princess.

“I really like Lincoln High School. I’m very grateful [for the] people that made me who I am and who brought me here. It’s an honor to be able to represent our school,” said Menezes.