Achieving her Lilac princess dream

Cheney High School student McKenna Kent was recently selected as a finalist for the Lilac Festival Association. This stage in the competition is called the “Fab 14.”

The organization starts out by selecting from over 25 young women who have been nominated to represent their school. Through an interview process they narrow it down to 14 girls.

Kent says she is honored to represent Cheney High School as well as her family and friends in this endeavor. She has always dreamed of being one of the Lilac Princesses and spending time with such wonderful young women from our community.

The “princesses in waiting” will be very busy this month as they participate in many service opportunities.

The Lilac princesses helped hand out clothing at the “Clothe A Child” campaign held at JC Penny’s at the Spokane Valley Mall. They also participated in a “Cookie Drop” for soldiers on Fairchild Air Force Base this week. Kent loves the service opportunities the Lilac Association has provided her.

The next step for Kent and the rest of the princesses is held on Jan. 25 at 3:30 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Theatre. At that time they each give a two-minute speech with the assigned topic being “You don’t remember days, you remember moments.”

The girls will be judged by a committee put together by the association, with the new Lilac Queen and her six attendants announced that evening. There are also scholarships given.

Kent is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and has accomplished much in her life so far.

She has earned her Young Women Recognition Award as well as her Honor Bee, which is the highest award given to young women in the church. These awards involve participating in activities dealing with faith, divine nature, knowledge, individual worth, choice and accountability, good works, integrity and virtue, with many service hours logged and lots of growth. Kent has also participated in FFA, FCCLA and is currently her class of 2015’s vice president.

Looking to the future, Kent hopes to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. This has been her dream for as long as she can remember.

Kent would like to thank everyone who has supported her, especially those who wrote her letters of recommendation. Her mom, Rebecca Kent, has been her biggest supporter.