Electing a Rose Princess to represent Cleveland High School in Portland’s Rose Festival Court has been a tradition for 95 years. Candidates go through a complex process of interviewing to reach the final stage: the assembly where the school gets to vote on their favorite princess.
The 2025 Rose Princess Assembly took place on Thursday, March 13 in the Cleveland auditorium. This year’s election consisted of four candidates: seniors Jenny Pham and Alara Bekleyen, and juniors Sabrina Johnson and Celia Roehl.
The election of the Rose Princess is about more than just their participation in Portland’s Rose Festival Court, they are granted amazing opportunities and participate in numerous hours of work around the community. In addition to this, the winning candidate receives a scholarship of $3,500 to the college of their choice.
The theme for this year’s Rose Princess Assembly was “All Together Now” with the central question guiding each candidate’s speech: “How Do You Define Community?” Learn more about each of the candidates and their speeches below.
Celia Roehl
Celia is a full IB diploma candidate and is in the Mandarin Immersion program. She participates in multiple sports within Cleveland such as swimming, track, and cross country. She was a member of the CHS Constitution team her sophomore year, and is an active member of Cleveland’s leadership program. Outside of school, she has worked as a camp counselor and enjoys working with kids.
Sabrina Johnson
In addition to being a full IB diploma candidate, Sabrina is the Student Body Vice President. Sabrina has been a member of the cheer team for three years, and is in the advanced leadership class. She has contributed to her community through the numerous opportunities provided by her church youth group. Sabrina plans to attend college after graduation, pursuing either a degree in psychology or environmental justice.
Alara Bekleyen
Alara is the Student Body Club Commissioner at Cleveland, and a member of the National Honors Society. She is in the advanced leadership class and participates in the Portland Youth Climate Strike. She works at Oaks Park and enjoys making jewelry and going roller skating in her spare time. Alara’s plans after high school include attending the University of Oregon, majoring in product design, and minoring in business.
Jenny Pham
Jenny has completed Cleveland’s three-year Culinary Arts CTE track and is in the student store management class. She loves baking to share with her family and friends and enjoys visiting the many amazing food trucks and restaurants in Portland. Jenny’s plans after graduation include attending either the University of Portland or Oregon State University to major in biology. In the future, she plans to be a registered nurse or nurse practitioner working with pediatric patients.
Voting was open for Cleveland students through a QR Code and a form that was sent to students through their PPS email. Students were instructed to make their choice on the following criteria: character, communication, and speech presentation. For students unable to attend the non-mandatory assembly, a video of the speeches was sent out with the voting form and students had until 3 p.m. March 14 to vote.
The official Selection Assembly for the 2025 Rose Princess will be held in the Cleveland auditorium on March 20 at 2:20 p.m.
