Meet Washington Apple Blossom Royalty Top 10 Candidate Samantha Dodd

The Top Ten Candidates for the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival Royalty will appear this week on NewsRadio 560 KPQ/FM 101.7

Candidates compete in the Cashmere Valley Bank Royalty Selection Pageant at the Numerica PAC on Saturday, Feb. 10th  The Queen and two Princesses will be crowned to reign over the 105th Washington State Apple Blossom Festival April 25th - May 5th, 2024 in Wenatchee, WA.

Check back here to learn more about each of the ten hopefuls for this year's Royal Court

Meet 2024 Apple Blossom Royalty Top Ten Candidate Samantha Dodd

Samantha Dodd is the daughter of Greg and Karen Dodd.  She is a senior at Eastmont High School.

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KPQ:  Congratulations on your selection as a Top 10 candidate, we wanted to know a little more about you so thank you for visiting KPQ.  Let's start with finding out about your some of your high school extra curricular activities. What are you involved in?

SD:  So at school, I am involved with my school senate class. I've been in Senate for all four years of high school, which has been really great. And I'm also involved in National Honor Society, which has been something I did last year and this year, so I'm really excited to keep doing that this year.

KPQ:  What is your role in Student Senate?

SD:  I'm the ASB spirit coordinator. So in the class, we all decide activities, things we do during and outside of school, but as spirit coordinator, I coordinate the red zone,  the spirit days, and any of the themes for games. It's been really good to have a community within our school and I feel like it's grown a lot this year, which has been really nice. We also like to have leadership classes.  We take maybe a day of class and just learn about leadership, which is something I'm also really passionate about.

KPQ:  What leadership or volunteer experience have you enjoyed?

SD:  Leadership has been really great. I've been doing it all through high school this summer. We had a speaker come in and teach us how to make our school a better place and it was really great to hear what he had to say. And we've really been applying everything that he taught us this year. I think it's really helped grow our student body. In National Honor Society, we did a yard sale last year for our service project. And we raised about $3,000 for the community. We had people from outside of school donate clothes, items, and it was really good to have people outside of school, come to our yard sale and just see what we all have to offer.

KPQ:  what has been your favorite class at Eastmont High School?

SD:  I think I have to have to say my civics class.  Everyone in the class was so great. It was such a good environment. And I feel like I learned so much stuff that I had no idea about. And my teacher was also so great. I really feel that he helped my learning. And I feel like I he helped me work really hard. And it's just super good to have a good environment in the morning and just like look forward to going to that class.

KPQ:  So what do you plan to do after graduation to further your education or pursue a career?

SD:  I am committed to Washington State University, and I plan to major in kinesiology and to hopefully become a physical therapist.

KPQ:  Physical therapy, what intrigues you about that?

SD:  I've been to physical therapy myself, when I was younger, I've had injuries from dance or just playing outside. But being in the environment of the physical therapy office was something that I just really felt welcomed in and I really wanted to be a part of it and I really just want to be able to help people and help cure whatever injuries they have.

KPQ:  What's your favorite Apple Blossom Festival memory?

SD;  I have two.  The first I would have to say is being a little girl standing on the side of the ave by Cafe Mela, where we always set our chairs, wearing my little store bought princess crown and waving at all the princesses, the floats, seeing all the horses and just looking up to them and just thinking, wow, these girls are so beautiful. I just really loved like sitting there and watching them. My second favorite memory would have to be performing on the stage at Memorial Park for as many years I can imagine with my dance studio.  I feel like it's been so good to grow up being on that stage and seeing all the people that come to watch, maybe people that wouldn't have normally come to watch our recitals. So it's really good to be on that stage every year.

KPQ:  What is your first stop at the Food Fair?

SD:  Oh yes, it's definitely the Shiska berries. Those are my favorite. I every time I go to the Food Fair, I tell myself I have to go no matter what. Those are the first things I need to get because we're just so good.

KPQ:  You've had several weeks now to get to know the other top 10 candidates and besides yourself, who else do you think is is most deserving to be selected for the royal court?

SD:  Well, to start off, I feel all these girls have a chance.  They are the most amazing girls that I've met and I've been so glad to go with them through this process. But if I really did have to pick one I think I would pick Jenissa Hepton.  She is so intelligent. I really admire anything she does. She's so smart, funny, and I just really think she has such a great chance and she's so deserving and I know she's in it for the right reasons.

KPQ:  How long have you thought about trying to be crowned for the  Apple Blossom royalty?

SD:  I definitely had the idea when I was young. But I really didn't know anything that went on behind the scenes. So growing up and going to the festival and seeing everything I told myself this is something that I want to do. So my senior year came around and I got the paperwork in the mail and I told myself this is something that I want to pursue and hopefully serve my community in the best ways. And I really feel like this process so far has done just that.   I've learned so much and I'm really grateful.

Learn more about Samantha Dodd

Samantha is the daughter of Karen and Greg Dodd. Samantha is the ASB Spirit Coordinator for her high school’s events, co-Vice President of National Honors Society, and involved in many leadership activities with her school’s Senate class. Samantha is a competitive dancer at Fabulous Feet Dance Studio, performs with the Wenatchee Valley Symphony in the Nutcracker every year, and volunteers her after school time at an elementary school. In her spare time, she enjoys watching many genres of movies, baking cookies, and going on adventurous Target runs with her friends. After graduation, Samantha will be attending Washington State University to major in kinesiology and become a physical therapist.

Samantha’s favorite TV show is The Amazing Race and her favorite movie is Elf. Her favorite song is “Satisfied”, sung by the Hamilton cast and her favorite book is November 9 by Colleen Hoover. She is most inspired by her dad and her most treasured keepsake is her first pair of pointe shoes.

Samantha’s favorite thing to do in the Wenatchee Valley, besides Apple Blossom, is to explore Pybus Market with her family, and take her two dogs to the many parks along the river. Her proudest moment in life was when she and her dance team won 1st overall and judges choice at nationals in Las Vegas. If Samantha could trade places with anyone for the day, she would trade places with her Golden Retriever Axel. Samantha feels she should represent the Valley and the Apple Blossom festival because she looks forward to being a positive role model for the young people of the Valley, and she wants to share the many beautiful and unique opportunities that the Valley and the Apple Blossom Festival has to offer.