Most little girls dream of becoming a princess.

For Helena Raposo, her dreams are coming true. The 16-year-old junior at Lincoln is the 2016 Rose Princess.

“I am so honored to represent our school because we are so diverse and I am a foreigner, so it is really exciting,” says Raposo.

Coming from Brazil last August because of her father’s job transfer, Raposo loved Portland right away and wanted to be involved in her new community. What better way than being Rose Princess?

“I really wanted to do this to go around and meet new people and be part of our community even more than I already am,” says Raposo.

Applying is no easy task. A GPA of at least 3.0 and 20 community service hours are only some of the qualifications. Raposo had to submit an essay and recommendation letter, but she prepared a variety of speeches around the Portland area. Some included speeches about herself, a theme and on the importance of the Rose City. Strong public speaking is a key skill judges evaluate when deciding the queen.

“Being a public person [means] you are setting an example for others. I like being someone that others can relate and look up to,” says Raposo.  

Raposo is following a long legacy of Rose Princesses at Lincoln. Tabitha Ivan, last year’s princess, has supported Raposo and passed the crown along during the Rose Festival assembly March 14.

Ivan had similar motives for becoming the Rose Princess last year: she too wanted to show her love for Lincoln and meet new people.

“I learned the history of our city and the impact the Rose Festival has had,” says Ivan.

The Rose Festival has been an integral part of Portland’s history for more than 100 years. Although it has evolved, it has impacted many generations.

Marissa Frost, the special events assistant for the Rose Festival, says it takes a great team of volunteers that promote the event at all of the affiliated schools to encourage students to keep the tradition alive. Participation in and applications for becoming a Rose Princess have declined among all schools in the last decade, including Lincoln. The Rose Festival committee has even launched new efforts to make sure every school has more than one candidate. The committee has redoubled efforts to attract girls to keep this 100-year-old tradition relevant, says Frost.

The Rose Queen is crowned on June 11 at 9:15 a.m., just before the parade through downtown. Beside the popular coronation, festival classics like the Fred Meyer Junior Parade, the city fair on the Waterfront and dragon boat races will be back, says Rich Jarvis, public relations manager for the Rose Festival. Events run from April through July.  

But the coronation is the highlight. The Rose Princess goes through many judging sessions first.

Perks of being a princess are fancy dinners and traveling around the city with other princesses. Some other benefits are a $3,500 scholarship, a wardrobe, a mentor and training sessions for the proper way to be a princess.

“All the girls get the same and there is no extra prize for winning queen, other than bragging rights,” says Jarvis.

Luciana Raposo, mother of Lincoln’s princess, sees the valuable life lessons her daughter learned as she went through the process.

Her daughter agrees. Raposo hopes this experience will help her prepare for a successful future, ideally as a surgeon. Being a full International Baccalaureate student can be a challenge in itself, but managing the workload and being a princess at the same time is no easy task.

Raposo hopes the future princesses will always show an interest in becoming the best person they can be and as well as being passionate towards the community.

“Be [yourself],” says Raposo. The judges are looking for people that aren’t trying to be someone who they are not.

Some additional sound advice from Ivan, the former Rose Princess, suggests that the future princesses should “always have a lipstick and lifesavers for photos and up close encounters.” More importantly, put everything into the experience to get the most out of it. She fondly remembers the relationships she built with the other princesses as something she will never forget.

“I can’t even begin to express how much it meant to me to have 14 sisters. We are all connected now and always will be,” says Ivan.

Beyond the special bond Raposo will have with her fellow Rose Princesses, she thinks the experience will ultimately make her a stronger person.

“I know now that I want to be a good person and I want to show others what being a good person is all about,” says Raposo.