Roselle's Rose Queen crowned for 2020
On Friday, Feb. 7, the 2020 Rose Queen was named during the 61st annual Rose Queen Scholarship event in the Lake Park High School West Campus auditorium in Roselle.
The 2019 Queen, Sarah Abraham, a freshman at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, completed her "royal" duties by passing on the crown to the new Queen, Julia Burke, a junior at Lake Park.
The first runner-up is Rinna Talwar, a sophomore at St. Francis High School in Wheaton; and second runner-up, Grace Kassanits, a senior at Lake Park.
The academic scholarship winner is Rachel Abraham, a senior at Lake Park; and the runners-up are: Yazmine Armas, a senior at Lake Park; and Rinna Talwar.
This year, the Rose Queen received a $2,500 scholarship, while the first runner-up gets a $1,250 award and $500 for the second runner-up. Academic scholarship awards include $500 for the top finisher and $250 each for the first and second runners-up.
The event featured nine contestants open to female high school students who live in Roselle or attend Lake Park High School.
This year's competition featured St. Francis sophomore Rinna Talwar; and Lake Park senior Rachel Abraham, senior Paulina Czupryna, sophomore Kassandra Huerta, junior Julia Burke, senior Gracie Kassanits, senior Emily Martyka, senior Danielle Horner, and senior Yazmine Armas.
Scholarships are funded by ticket sales to the event, a contribution from the village, and sponsorships from local businesses.