South Pasadena Teens Join Tournament of Roses Royal Court

PASADENA, CA — It's officially Rose Bowl season! The finalists of the 2019 Tournament of Roses Royal Court was announced Monday, marking the official start of the season leaded up to the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl Game on Jan. 1. Lauren Michele Baydaline, a senior at Westridge School and resident of South Pasadena was named among the finalists.

Seven young women, high school students from around the San Gabriel, were chosen from among 44 finalists and hundreds of applicants. The Rose Queen will be chosen later this month and crowned on Oct. 23 at the Pasadena Playhouse. The Roses Royal Court will represent the community at nearly 100 events leading up to the parade on Jan. 1.

According to the Tournament of Roses, Baydaline is her school's secretary of the Associated Student Body, founder and head of Every Body Affinity, head of book club, 3rd year peer to peer, and a volunteer in Reading Rocks program at Hillsides, and a camp counselor at YMCA Glendale. She likes reading, writing poetry, and spending time with friends and family. According to her bio, she plans to study biology, linguistics, and Latin.

“Personally, melody of life means the pace at which life flows. Life is an unpredictable symphony,” she told judges. “Every moment, experience, and memory all flow together to create a melody. There are good parts and bad parts, where the beats may speed up and intensify, but each part of the piece is what makes it unique. Life is a melody, and we are all the composers to our own pieces.”

Each of the young ladies were chosen for the court based on criteria such as public speaking ability, academic achievement, youth leadership and community and school involvement.

The members of the Royal Court are:

Lauren Michele Baydaline, a senior at Westridge School and resident of South Pasadena;

Ashley Symone Hackett, a senior at John Muir High School and a Pasadena resident;

Rucha S. Kadam, a senior at La Canada High School and a La Canada Flintridge resident;

Sherry Xiaorui Ma, a Temple City resident and a senior at San Marino High School;

Micaela Sue McElrath, a senior at Westridge School and a Pasadena resident;

Helen Susan Rossi, a Flintridge Preparatory School senior and La Canada Flintridge resident; and

Louise Deser Siskel, a senior at Sequoyah High School and a San Marino resident.

The Announcement and Coronation of the 101th Rose Queen® and Presentation of the 2019 Royal Court is on Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at the Pasadena Playhouse; the event is sponsored by Citizens Business Bank. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase from Sharp Seating Company.

Photo courtesy of the Tournament of Roses; City News Service contributed to this report.