Kaitlyn Ross has seen the Indianapolis 500 several times, but she probably won’t ever have better seats than the ones she’ll occupy this May. That’s because Ross, a 1L from Fishers, has been selected as a 500 Festival Princess, one of 33 young women who will help promote one of the world’s largest one-day sporting events while serving their local communities.
For Ross, the selection is a dream come true, made all the more special by the bond she now shares with her mother, Renee Ross.
“My mom competed in pageantry when I was younger, and encouraged me to get involved,” Ross said. “When I was in high school, one of my former teammates had been selected as a 500 Festival Princess and came back to visit us with one of the pace cars, but I never thought I’d be able to do that.”
Ross started off competing in the Miss America Opportunity, earning Miss Indiana University honors in 2023.
Her mother was battling breast cancer at the time.
“I wanted to do something that gave me confidence,” Ross said. “I’ve learned more about myself, and especially public speaking, than I thought possible. I feel like I can stand up and talk to anyone now.”
500 Festival Princesses spend most of their spring performing outreach efforts to communities throughout Indiana. For Ross, that means her hometown of Fishers and her home-away-from home in Bloomington, where she volunteers her time with a local Girls Scouts troop and an initiative she started to help young women discover their potential in in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
The mission of that initiative, Advocating for Next Generation STEMinists, is deeply important to Ross.
“When I was a freshman at IU, I had a mentor who told me I needed to switch majors, that I’d never make it as a scientist,” Ross said. “But I was resilient and did all the things they thought I couldn’t do.” She earned a biology degree from IU in May 2023, and knew her next stop wasn’t far away.
“I was always interested in law school,” she said. “And I knew I really liked science.”
An internship at Eli Lilly & Co. allowed Ross to see the many facets of an international company, including intellectual property law.
“I realized then I could combine my passions and not lose out,” she said.
As she wraps up her first year at Indiana Law, Ross will be giving presentations and making appearances throughout southern Indiana and encouraging young women to pursue their interests in science-based fields.
And her mom, who is now in remission, will be cheering her every step of the way.
“It’s been a really great way to connect with my mother,” Ross said. “She was over the moon when I was selected as a 500 Festival Princess. Not many people thought I was going to do it, but I did, and I know she’s really proud to see it.”