Asked what makes her special — not an easy question for any of us to answer about ourselves — Cleveland High School Rose Festival princess J’reyesha "Jay" Brannon had the answer on the tip of her tongue: "My background, my interests, and the things I do aren’t typical. I haven’t met anyone like me ever."

The daughter of a Filipina mother and a black father, J’reyesha (pronounced Jray-EE-sha) is president of her school’s Black Student Union and Asian Pacific American Student Union, and founded the latter. These are only two of the dizzying array of her interests and activities, which also include membership in the National Honor Society and her school’s Queer Straight Alliance as well as volunteer work at the Oregon Humane Society and the Multnomah County Library.

A former student of Buckman Elementary School, J’reyesha also teaches afterschool classes at the school’s SUN program. Diane Meisenhelter, her supervisor there, sees a bright future for the princess: "I know Jay will continue to be a hard worker, an outstanding and creative leader, and successful in any endeavors she undertakes."

J’reyesha traces her interest in art to Buckman, an arts-focused school where she became a self-representing artist at the age of eight, and to her mother, with whom she collaborates in making jewelry. J’reyesha sees herself as primarily a textile artist, and has been weaving since she was 10, but she also paints and works in mixed media, focusing on the theme of social injustice.

At science-focused Winterhaven School, J’reyesha discovered science was every bit as fascinating as art, and come autumn, she’ll begin her study of environmental and civil engineering at the University of Portland, where she hopes to be a role model for other minority women who are interested in science.

J’reyesha is as articulate on the subjects of racial and sexual identity as she is on art and science: "Society views me as African American," she explains, "but I wholeheartedly embrace both of my races." She points out that there were Caucasians who helped the civil-rights movement and men who helped the women’s movement, so her role as a "straight ally" in the Queer Straight Alliance is similar, that of a supporter and helper.

As it turns out, J’reyesha is not the first princess in her extended family. Her father’s mother’s sister also had a granddaughter who was a Rose Festival princess back in the ’90s. J’reyesha’s grandmother, who lives in Texas, eagerly awaits the news of J’reyesha’s Rose Festival activities that the family mails her.

Closer to home, J’reyesha’s mother Michelle says of her daughter: "She is a star and will always shine brightly in my eyes." Little sister Malaya adds, "I love you so much and would never want you to change."

J’reyesha had a lot of support at Cleveland High School as well, in particular Matt Bowman, who taught her freshman Global Studies, sophomore English, and junior IB Psych. "He wanted someone from his class to be a princess and he wrote me about 20 recommendation letters," she said.

"The Rose Festival showcases Portland’s great youth," J’reyesha explains. "We’re not all stereotypical troublemakers. I wish they had something like this for young men."

"I definitely did not imagine I would be a princess," J’reyesha confides. "This princess is a little different than a Disney princess. It’s almost a full-time job."

Of course, hard work can have big rewards. One of J’reyesha’s kindergarten math students at Buckman Elementary asked, "Are you really a princess? What country are you from?" When the kindergartener learned the answers, she told princess J’reyesha, "I want to do that."

Rose Festival princesses represent their school and act as the "face of the Rose Festival" at many events in the community, including parades, volunteer activities, luncheons with community and business leaders, and more. The Portland Rose Festival Foundation awards each court member a $3,500 scholarship, courtesy of The Randall Group.

To qualify for the Rose Festival Court, a candidate must be a full-time junior or senior at a 4A, 5A, or 6A high school in Multnomah, Washington, or Clackamas county and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0. Potential princesses are evaluated on leadership and scholastic achievement, school activities, civic involvement, volunteer projects, communication skills, and overall impression.

The Portland Rose Festival Queen is chosen from all of the court members at Portland’s Memorial Coliseum on Saturday, June 11 at 8:30am. To learn more, call (503) 227-2681 or visit <www.rosefestival.org>.