Representing her home state of Kansas, Laura Schlapp ’13 was crowned First Runner-up during the Cherry Blossom Festival this past April in Washington, D.C.
Schlapp, a Wichita native and WSU communication-integrated marketing graduate, was sponsored by the Kansas State Society in the 2015 Cherry Blossom Princess Program. Since 1948, state and territorial societies, as well as the international embassy community, have chosen accomplished young women to take part in this program.
Each spring, princesses participate in educational, leadership and cultural activities surrounding the Cherry Blossom Festival, which commemorates the 1912 gift of Japanese cherry trees from Tokyo City to the city of Washington, D.C.
This April 5-11, Schlapp, who has been working as a legislative correspondent and intern manager for Kansas U.S. Senator Pat Roberts, enjoyed an opera performance at the Russian Cultural Institute, tea with the Lithuanian ambassador, lunch at the Embassy of Bahrain and tours of the Mexican and Japanese Cultural Institutes, among other special dinners, receptions and outings afforded the Cherry Blossom Princesses.
