Two UK Gatton Seniors Named to Kentucky Derby Royal Court

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photo of Logan Howard
photo of Caroline Will

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 13, 2018) Two University of Kentucky students from Louisville, Logan Howard, a 21-year-old senior majoring in business marketing, and Caroline Laise Will, a 22-year-old senior majoring in economics, were chosen as princesses for the Kentucky Derby Royal Court 2018. Both are students in the Gatton College of Business and Economics.

Each year, the process to select the Kentucky Derby Royal Court begins with more than 100 applicants from which five young women are selected as Royal Court princesses. Howard and Will, along with the three other women selected, will represent the Kentucky Derby Festival and the city of Louisville as official ambassadors for the springtime tradition. They will attend about 75 events over the festival’s two-week period.                                                                                                                   

Logan Howard is very active with student-run organizations on campus. She is an undergraduate senator-at-large for the Student Government Association, a Wildcat Ambassador and a member of the UK Mock Trial Team. She is also a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Caroline Will is very involved on campus. She is a member of Alpha Delta Pi Sorority, Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. She is also a Global Scholar and a member of the Global Scholars Honor Council, Economics Society and the Lewis Honors College.

Howard’s platform focuses on encouraging young girls to do well in school, be active in their community and to never give up. She has wanted to be a Derby Princess since a child because of all the positive impact she saw them making in her hometown of Louisville. Howard is on track to graduate this May.

With her platform, Will hopes to preserve history and build on a legacy that will last for generations to come. As a member of the court, she says she is gaining a deeper appreciation for the passion and commitment that goes into planning each event and is excited to give back to many organizations and charities across Louisville. Will says while growing up, the princesses fascinated her, but she never thought about applying until this past year. She will also be graduating in May, and says she will forever be proud to say she attended the University of Kentucky.

One Kentucky Derby princess will be crowned the Derby Festival queen by a spin-of-the-wheel at the annual Fillies Derby Ball tomorrow, Saturday, April 14. As members of the court, each woman will receive a $2,000 scholarship ($1,000 from The Fillies and $1,000 from the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation).

Candidates for the Kentucky Derby Princess Program must maintain a minimum 3.0 grade point average and are selected by a panel of three out-of-state judges. Criteria for selection include knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence, personality, and campus and community involvement. The Fillies Inc. coordinates the Derby Festival’s Royal Court Program, which is a volunteer group that works closely with the Kentucky Derby Festival.