Rose Queen: ‘It’s about who you are as a person’

A few hours after 2012 Rose Queen Drew Washington received her crown Thursday and addressed a crowd of hundreds — calming her nerves by pretending they were family members at Christmas dinner — the 16-year-old Pasadena resident and Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy student sat down for an interview in the Queen and Court Room of the Tournament House. The room has become home away from home for the seven court members, a place where they nap, study and hang out. “We’ve played many games in here, danced a few times,” Drew said.

Pasadena Sun: What was it like, growing up in Pasadena?

Drew Washington: It’s a big community, but within it, you can create something really small. I’ve always grown up knowing everyone on my street, saying hello to everybody. Everybody in Pasadena knows my family, so I’ve grown up with Pasadena kind of being my family.

Sun: What made you try out for the court?

Washington: I tried out for the Rose Court due to an impact a past princess had on me, Princess Katie Hernandez from two years ago. When I came to Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, she ran up to me my first day because I looked completely lost and she helped me figure out what I needed to know for high school. When she made the court, she became a role model for me.

Sun: What led you to competitive sports?

Washington: Growing up as an only child, I always yearned for friendship and really found a family, my own family, in playing team sports. I learned how to work with a group. I learned how to be a leader.

Sun: What sport did you play first?

Washington: First, when I was 4 or 5 years old, I played tennis. [Then] I started playing basketball because I wanted the team aspect. After basketball I played volleyball. I started track in high school.

Track is more of a sport where you have to motivate yourself. You have to have the want to work out. That drive and effort that I’ve put into track is what I’ve put in to all the rest of my activities like school, clubs, the Tournament of Roses. I’ve really learned to put my whole heart and effort into activities I do because you can’t get the most out of your experience if you don’t.

Sun: What don’t people know about being the Rose Queen?

Washington: A lot of people don’t understand the process of trying out for the royal court. We are known by a number the whole, entire process. You’re not picked on the achievements you’ve made or how pretty you look, but you’re picked on who you are as a person. It’s not a beauty contest. It’s really about who you are inside and how you represent the city of Pasadena.