Some little girls dream of becoming Miss America. Others strive to become the next President of the United States.

Some Kentucky natives dream of being appointed to the Kentucky Derby Festival Royal Court.

Two Kentucky Wildcats, Caroline Will and Logan Howard, have been selected out of a pool of more than 130 applicants to be Royal Court Princesses, ambassadors for the Kentucky Derby Festival and the city of Louisville during the 2018 Derby Season.

“Growing up in Louisville, the Derby Festival Royal Court was something I was familiar with early on,” Will said. “As a child, I always looked up to the Royal Court and thought the young women were true princesses.”

Will is a senior economics and French major with an international business minor. Involvement in her campus and community is one of the criteria by which the applicants are judged, and Will’s qualifications include being a Global Scholars Honor Council Member, a peer instructor for the Gatton College of Business and Economics, and president of the Economics Society and Beta Gamma Sigma.

Logan Howard, a senior business marketing major, set herself apart as a William C. Parker Scholar, 100 Black Men of America Scholar and Undergraduate Senator-at-Large for the Student Government Association.

Her involvement as a volunteer with Best Buddies Kentucky inspired her to begin the application process. She said she aims to use her platform to serve as a role model for the community’s youth.

The program is coordinated by The Fillies, Inc., a volunteer group and sponsor of the Fillies Derby Ball. Interested young women send in the required materials and interview with in-state judges. Once 30 finalists are selected by a panel of three out-of-state judges, they are interviewed by those judges and narrowed down to five.

Besides involvement, judges evaluate knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence and personality. Academics aren’t left out either; princesses must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA.

The princesses will attend more than 70 events in two weeks for the 60th anniversary of the program this year. Apart from going to the Limestone Marina to watch the Great Steamboat Race, attending the Children’s Tea and being involved in the Pegasus Parade, the princesses will each be awarded a $2,000 scholarship for their achievements.

“I am most excited for the Pegasus Parade and the Children’s Tea. I love seeing how everyone in the community comes together at the parade,” Howard said. “It’s a great way to give to the local economy and emphasize the importance of giving back.”

Because each of the five princesses are equally qualified, the competition ends when it comes time to select the queen. The Derby Festival Queen is chosen by chance with the spin of a wheel on April 14 at the Fillies Derby Ball.

“It is an absolute honor…I am humbled and beyond excited to not only be a face of the Kentucky Derby Festival, but also a role model to others,” Will said. “I cannot wait to serve the community in which I have lived, and am thrilled be able to give back to the city that has given me so much. This is truly a dream come true.”