Francesca Johnson was born in Hammond but raised in Valparaiso her entire life. She attended Saint Paul School and then Valparaiso High School. She says "Valparaiso was definitely an amazing community to grow up in. I made such great friends and was surrounded by wonderful, supportive people my entire life. The Valparaiso community instilled in me a sense of responsibility and surrounded me in an environment that encouraged service and commitment to helping others."
She heard about the Indy 500 Princess Program from a family friend and decided to apply last December. Out of 250 applicants, she was chosen among 66 others after the first round of interviews. The second round of interviews found her still standing strong among 33 other applicants. Finally, she was chosen to be the Indy 500 Princess.
For the last couple months, she has been serving the Indiana community in a variety of ways. She has been acting as an ambassador to the Indy 500 program by participating in community events, such as speaking to Girl Scout troops and cooking and serving homeless people in South Bend. She was very happy to meet amazing people and experience things she never would have had the chance to experience if she had not gotten involved with the program.
She recently graduated Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana with a degree in Mass Communication Studies and a minor on Business and Advertising. She is considering dental school, but for the time being is looking forward to the next step in her life in which she was accepted in Teach for America and will be teaching in Chicago for the next 2 years. Teach for America accepts recent graduates and places them in our country's lowest-income communities to help eliminate educational inequity and give all children the educational opportunities they deserve.
