The San Jose Mercury News 
December 29, 2018
By Claudia S Alaniz, Guest Author
 

She’s the first queen with glasses, the first Jewish queen and first LGBTQ queen

Rose Queen Louise Deser Siskel of San Marino admits her youth was more “‘Lord of the Flies’ than Disney.”

She never really imagined being a princess or, better yet, a queen. But since starting her journey with the Tournament of Roses, she has seen how much the organization is more in line with her values than she knew.

“I entered (the Rose Court search) on sort of a whim, but as I continued to return for the interview rounds, and throughout the whole process, I realized the value of the Tournament of Roses, and the role it plays in our community,” Siskel said. “Each year, the (Tournament) selects seven young women (for the Royal Court) and gives them a real voice; for that I feel very thankful.”

Looking at Siskel’s resumé and her warm smile when she greets everyone, it’s no surprise that she was chosen as the 101st Rose Queen.

She is a member of the debate team and judicial committee at Sequoyah High School, an independent day school in Pasadena; involved in YMCA Youth & Government, and has researched breast cancer under Dr. Shehla Pervin at The Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, as well as worked on research projects with NASA Ames. Siskel plans to study cellular and molecular biology after high school.

Honored to be chosen Rose Queen, Siskel says she’s also honored that she holds several first titles in her royal role — the first queen with glasses, the first Jewish queen and first LGBTQ queen. “What was important to me throughout the interview process was that I was completely transparent about who I was, about the things that I value, and about the things that I advocate for,” she said.

“I feel lucky that I was selected by the committee for those reasons. That, to me, gives me great faith in the organization and a great amount of respect for the committee.”

The whole experience, she adds, has been humbling and inspiring.

“I’m inspired constantly by people’s dedication and hope, and joy for life,” Siskel said.

Sharing her values and advocating for causes she believes in is exciting, but she’s also having a lot of fun during the more than 100 appearances the Royal Court makes as ambassadors of the Tournament of Roses, ever since they were chosen through New Year’s Day.

“It’s really fun, to meet people and to eat lots of good food. We go to lots of fun events. We get to do all kinds of things that I always hoped to do but never thought I would,” she said. “We get to ride on the Goodyear blimp; we get to meet the football teams — all those things make it a really lovely experience and most of all, I get to do it with six other young women, who are some of my best friends.”

Siskel also gives credit to her family and other friends who have supported her throughout.

“My parents help me do everything, they spend late nights talking to me, and I love my brother eternally,” she said. “And my friends, who will be camping out and in the stands on the Rose Parade route, I’m so thankful for all of those people.”

Rose Queen Louise Deser Siskel
Sequoyah High School senior

Favorite tradition: One of my favorite family traditions is for birthdays. It began when my brother and I were little and it was my mom’s birthday. We took every tablecloth and napkin and placemat in the house and set them up in a line from her bedroom to the kitchen and she had to walk on them. Since then, we’ve always made a pathway for anybody’s birthday, from their bedroom to the kitchen, where we eat waffles and ice cream with chocolate sauce for breakfast. It’s become streamers now (instead of napkins), so for my birthday, my parents hung streamers from my bedroom to the kitchen, and you run through and break each of the streamers as you go.

Life theme song: “New Slang” by The Shins. That song always makes me happy. Whenever I plug my phone into my car, it starts spontaneously playing because I listen to it so much. To me, that song has meant different things, for different times in my life. It is one that I always enjoy regardless of where I am.

New Year’s message from Rose Queen Louise Deser Siskel: 
“First and foremost, I wish everyone a happy and healthy new year. A year filled with laughter and joy, with community, and with openness — openness to people who are completely unlike yourself. And openness to the people in your life, and constant support of those people who make such a difference in each of our lives, and without whom we couldn’t do any of the things we strive to do.

“Secondly, I encourage everyone to stay engaged and active within your community, advocate and fight for the things you believe in, regardless of whether other people respond or care about those things in the way you do.

“I think it can be easy to get discouraged when people don’t share the same passion for your values or for the things that you care about, but I hope that people continue to fight for the things that are important to them, regardless of the support they see from others.”

Read the original story here: 
https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/12/29/rose-parade-2019-rose-queen-louise-deser-siskel-is-inspired-inspiring-and-thankful/