Hannah Romero De Gante loves giving back to her community and strives to be a great leader.

Now as an Indy 500 Festival princess, her goals are racing closer to the finish line.

The 21-year-old was class president and graduated from Seymour High School during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. With classes mostly online, social distancing and barely any activities on campus, it was not the most ideal situation starting her freshman year at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis studying health sciences to become an occupational therapist.

“I felt very disconnected and introverted with classes being online and minimal activities on campus due to the pandemic,” she said.

It was that same year that she found an opportunity for college-age women to grow in their leadership skills and get involved in their community with the 500 Festival Princess Program through the local newspaper. As family and friends encouraged her to give the opportunity a chance, she wanted to experience college and figure out her life after the pandemic first.

Last summer, Romero De Gante had an internship with an organization known as Project Stepping Stone, which strives to improve postsecondary education and success among Indiana’s Latino high school students. She said one of the leaders of the organization also was a board member for the 500 Festival Princess Program and encouraged her to try again.

“She said to me, ‘What can you lose?’ and now that I am a junior and got my feet wet with college, I decided to give it a shot,” she said.

After moving off campus, she now drives past the speedway on her way to class and work. After researching the program and seeing its mission, she was very inclined to apply.

The 500 Festival Princess Program mission is to help and support future leaders, especially women, to grow in their professional development and make an impact in their community. The program was founded in 1959, and more than 2,000 Indiana women have experienced being selected as a 500 Festival princess, according to the festival website.

These 33 college-aged women between the ages of 18 and 23 serve as ambassadors of not only the 500 Festival but their hometown and their college or university.

Also, each 500 Festival princess receives a $1,000 scholarship, made possible by Marlyne Sexton, an Indianapolis philanthropist and president of The Sexton Companies, and the 500 Festival Foundation, according to the website.

“These women come from all over Indiana. They help us prosper in community engagement,” Romero De Gante said. “It’s something that I absolutely love being a part of.”

As the month of May and the Indianapolis 500 races closer, she remembers her experience through the application process being excited and nerve-racking.

The board members choose from the applications they want to take into the first round of in-person interviews, which took place at IUPUI.

“Many girls applied, and I remember being in a room with about 50 other girls just getting to know each other,” Romero De Gante said. “Seeing all these women wanting to be future lawyers, future doctors, you name it, it was empowering but at the same time a little intimidating to see other girls who have done just as much if not more than you.”

Romero De Gante said the most enlightening part of the process was even though all of these women have such decorated résumés, everyone was respectful and encouraged each other during the process.

After the first round of interviews, which occurred the weekend of Jan. 21 and 22, the women were sent home to wait until the next week when they would find out if they made it to the next round. After a long day of questions and the anticipation to come in the next week, Romero De Gante was able to celebrate her birthday that very same day.

Then she was one of 66 women who were part of the second round of interviews in a virtual setting.

“From those 66 out of the 200-plus that they interviewed the first round, they picked the 33,” she said.

Romero De Gante said she received the news that she was selected as a 500 Festival princess via email while in the Starbucks drive-thru before heading to work.

While princess may be a new title for Romero De Gante, the role of community leader is something with which she is already familiar.

Last year, Romero De Gante was second runner-up in the Jackson County Fair queen pageant. With this experience, she said it helped her feel more comfortable around people.

“A sash and a crown bring more attention to you more than you would think. When I did it through Jackson County, it felt homier to me since I was born and raised here,” she said.

“What was really rewarding was seeing all those little girls and families excited about the fair and giving back to my community,” she said, smiling.

Romero De Gante said she hopes to represent Jackson County for the hometown that it is and wants to give back to the small town that gave so much to her.

“This community gave me so much that I have been able to have opportunities like this, and I just want to make everyone proud because I wouldn’t be where I am today without my hometown,” she said.

In the months leading up to the Indianapolis 500 in May, the princesses are encouraged to find and participate in their own community outreach projects. Princesses participate in both in-bound outreaches, projects in Indianapolis, and out-bound outreaches, projects outside of the Indianapolis area.

Organizations such as Girls Inc., schools, hospitals, etc. can request a princess to participate in a community outreach project, whether that be their presence or to engage with the community.

Romero De Gante already has scheduled a trip back to her hometown in April to talk with some kids at St. Ambrose Catholic School, which is where she attended.

“I plan to read to the kiddos about the 500 Festival Princess Program, show them a racer helmet and the different flags that are used during the race,” she said.

On the day of the race, Romero De Gante and the other 32 princesses will have the opportunity to ride in a pace car before the race begins and spectate the rest of the evening.

Out of the 33 princesses, one will be given the award of queen scholar, which is an additional scholarship award on top of the $1,000 scholarship already given to each princess. The queen scholar will have special duties throughout the year and on the day of race, including the long-standing tradition of kissing the winner of the Indianapolis 500 on the cheek.

“I hope to apply and would love to take that extra step, but if I don’t get it, I am completely happy with the position I am in now,” Romero De Gante said.

As she fills her duties in her position and strives to represent the communities that have helped her get where she is today, she looks back to her parents and the sacrifices they made as inspiration.

“My parents are very hardworking people and have made many sacrifices to give us every opportunity they possibly could,” she said. “To this day, I credit every single accomplishment to them because of the person they encouraged me to be.”

Her parents, Ana De Gante and Eric Romero, were from Monterrey, Mexico, before traveling to America, where Hannah and her twin sister, Haidy, were born. Romero De Gante said Spanish was her first language, and she started learning English in kindergarten.

“Another major goal of mine is to be a voice for those underrepresented communities and be a role model for any little girl that may look like me,” she said.

Romero De Gante said she is looking forward to experiencing the Indianapolis 500 from a different point of view, but most important, spend time with the kids in her community and making an impact.

She hopes to take the skills and knowledge she learns from this program far past the finish line to make a difference for her community in the future.

“I hope they can see this opportunity as inspiration, that whatever you set your mind to, you can achieve it,” she said.