As the pink and turquoise wheel spun with a click-click-click-click, all eyes were fixated on where it would land, determining the 2024 Cherry Blossom Queen.

On April 12, Alessandra Evangelista, SIS/BA ’25, had a less than 2 percent chance that fortune would favor her at the Capital Hilton in downtown DC. And then it did. When the wheel came to a stop, the international relations major looked stunned to be crowned the first-ever Cherry Blossom Queen from the US Virgin Islands.  

“I didn’t have my contacts in, so I actually didn’t know I’d won,” she said with a smile. Once she did, “it was really exciting—and very special for me to be able to represent my home territory on a national stage.” 

Since 1948, the Cherry Blossom Program has celebrated Japan’s gift of cherry blossom trees to the United States—many which were planted in DC’s Tidal Basin—by naming a queen. Run by National Conference of State Societies, the program is not a beauty pageant; it was chartered by Congress in 1952 to promote friendship and cultural awareness between Japan and the US.

Delegates representing each state and US territory—which this year included Inuri Abeysekara, SIS/BA ’21, and Katie Barnett, SIS/BA ’25—are selected for their academic achievements, interest in world affairs, and civil and social engagement. Then, per tradition, the Cherry Blossom Queen is selected at random to prevent politics from interfering with the process.

This year’s fortuitous spin earned Evangelista a three-week, goodwill trip across Japan in June hosted by the Japan Sakura Foundation. Evangelista was accompanied on the tour by her Japanese counterpart, the Sakura Queen. The pair met with dignitaries including Yuriko Koike, the first female governor of Tokyo; Princess Aiko; and Rahm Emanuel, the US ambassador to Japan.

Evangelista also visited Kantei, the Japanese equivalent of the White House, where she met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and presented him with a letter on behalf of President Joe Biden. 

“When you think of cherry blossoms, may they remind you of the interconnectedness of our world,” Evangelista said in her speech to Kishida and members of his cabinet. “Let us strive to be global citizens who are aware of and engaged with the world around us, promote peace, understanding, and cooperation across borders.”

Evangelista said a highlight of the trip was the cultural immersion—including learning to deliver remarks in Japanese, a language she doesn’t speak. In Shizuoka City, she received a tour of the research laboratory where the original Tidal Basin cherry trees were developed. She also visited the Ise Jingu Grand Shrine, an honor reserved only for dignitaries and the imperial family. 

Along her journey, Evangelista—a second generation Eagle and daughter of Richard Evangelista, SPA/BA ’91—share US Virgin Islands culture, gifting lapel pins from the US Virgin Islands Department of Tourism that featured the mocko jumbie symbol.

“I emphasized the importance of mutual areas of collaboration between Japan and the United States like science, technology, and defense,” she said. “I also enjoyed sharing about how much Washington appreciates the cherry blossoms and how we have that nice pathway outside of SIS with the cherry blossom trees people enjoy.”