The 2013 Rose Parade Queen was chosen over the weekend, and high school senior Vanessa Natalie Manjarrez now carries the title.
The petite animal lover from Pasadena attends Mayfield Senior School and is a community volunteer, who says her parents are her inspiration. Her father, Armando Manjarrez, emigrated from Mexico City to Pasadena as a young adult. Manjarrez’s parents now own Language Systems, five schools in the Los Angeles area that teach English as a second language.
Manjarrez, 17, beat out six other “princesses” to be named the 95th Rose Queen on Tuesday at the Tournament House lawn.
Her volunteer work with the National Charity League, the Pasadena Humane Society, the Pasadena Senior Center and Villa Esperanza, as well as her “exuberant personality” are what set her above the rest, said Joan Madsen, a director of the Tournament of Roses Association board and chair of Queen and Court.
Manjarrez is also a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient. When in college, she hopes to study business and science – stem cell research and genetics are among her specific interests. Her hobbies include traveling and volunteering.
As queen, Manjarrez will reign over the festivities at the 2013 Tournament of Roses, which will close with the 124th Rose Parade and the 99th Rose Bowl Game. This year, the parade’s theme is “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”. The name comes from the iconic Dr. Seuss book often given to graduating students of those entering new phases of their lives.
The 2012 Rose Queen was Drew Washington, now a freshman at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality.
