Two Johnson County college students were selected as Indianapolis 500 Festival Princesses for the race’s 106th running.
Lexi Giddens, a Franklin College junior and Whiteland Community High School graduate, and Blanca Osorio Ortega, a junior at the University of Indianapolis and Greenwood Community High School graduate, made the cut from among hundreds of applicants from around the state to serve on the court.
The 500 Festival Princess Program celebrates Indiana’s most civic-minded, academically driven young women. Each year 33 women are selected as 500 Festival Princesses and serve as ambassadors of the festival in their hometowns and their colleges or universities, according to a press release on the program.
The 500 Festival Princesses this year represent 15 Indiana colleges and universities and 22 cities and towns across the state. The princesses were selected based on communication skills, academic performance, community involvement, commitment to service, and leadership, according to the program website.
During the festival leading up to the race, 500 Festival Princesses each receive $1,000 scholarships, courtesy of the 500 Festival Foundation and Marlyne Sexton, president of The Sexton Companies.
The princesses also take part in community service activities and leadership programming opportunities, 500 Festival spokesperson Kathleen Messmer said in an email.
Though the Indy 500 is more than a month away, the princesses have already started their community service work. For example Giddens has visited Clark Elementary School and Grace United Methodist Church to discuss the importance of the race in the state of Indiana, she said.
“I am most excited about giving back to my community and I’m really big into community service,” Giddens said. “I love representing Johnson County and now I can do that on a statewide level. I love the fact we get to spread the history of the greatest spectacle in racing. It puts Indiana on the map. I love that.”
Giddens, a biology major with a focus in pre-veterinary studies, decided early on she wanted to be a part of the 500 Festival.
“At the Indy 500, I would go and see princesses ride around in caped cars,” Giddens said. “I was influenced by a girl who is a few years older than me in college and ended up doing that.”
Giddens is a 10-year 4-H member and a life-long Johnson County resident. During her time in college, Giddens has served as chairman of her sorority, vice president of the Franklin College Riley Dance Marathon and secretary for Passion for Paws, a Franklin College animal service organization.
Osorio Ortega majors in political science and international relations and she writes for UIndy’s student newspaper, The Reflector.
