She'll be representing the state of New York in the 90th Annual Cherry Blossom Festival, March 31-April 6, in Washington, D.C., but Amy Chmielewski is still a local girl whose parents live in Centreville. A 1999 graduate of Centreville High, she's been chosen to be a Cherry Blossom princess.
"I was really honored [to be nominated]," she said. "My first reaction was, 'Oh, my God' — I couldn't believe it."
Chmielewski's parents, Richard and Christine, live in the Post Corners apartments, and her brother Paul, almost 27, works for the Dish Network in Blacksburg. Amy, 21, is a junior at Drexel University in Philadelphia, majoring in digital media. She hopes to someday work on music videos or do special effects for movies.
At Centreville High, Chmielewski acted in the Drama Department, belonged to the National Honor Society and was an honor member of the International Thespians Society. At Drexel, she's been inducted into both the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and the Golden Key Society — a service, leadership and scholarship organization.
She's involved in drama there, too, and just finished performing in a production of student-directed, one-act plays. And she's playing two roles in Drexel's production of "Fiddler on the Roof."
Nominating Chmielewski as the Cherry Blossom princess from New York was the president of Lodge 846 of the Polish National Alliance in D.C. "My father was born there and I have family currently living there," she explained. She decided to try for it because, "this close to graduating from college, it's important to network with people, and it's more difficult to do that when you're in a technical field."
She had to send a photo and her biography and write a statement telling why she wanted to be a princess. "I said it's an excellent way to meet people and I wanted to represent a state like New York that's so diverse — bustling cities, small rural towns, mountains, waterfalls — everything all in one state," said Chmielewski.
She said no other state represents so much of what the U.S. is about as New York does, adding that "stressing this diversity is especially important during this fragile time when we should all try to work to not let ourselves be concerned with petty differences."
Chmielewski found out a week ago she'll be a princess, but she hadn't gotten her hopes up. "It eventually narrowed down to me and some senator's daughter, so I didn't expect to get it," she said. "I was very surprised."
During the week preceding the April 6 Cherry Blossom Parade, she and the other princesses will participate in a whirlwind of activities, including receptions, visits to the zoo, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Kennedy Center, Children's National Medical Center, various embassies, the National Cathedral and the U.S. Botanical Gardens. They'll also take a riverboat cruise with political dignitaries and meet Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, William Renquist, and First Lady Laura Bush.
The events culminate with a grand ball, April 5 — Chmielewski's boyfriend, Drexel senior Kevin Drayer, will be her escort — and the parade, the next morning, along Constitution Avenue. So how does the Centreville High grad feel about it all? "I'm happy, excited and amazed," she said. "I can't wait — I think it'll be a lot of fun."