John Muir High School senior Saniyah Brunston spent New Year’s Eves growing up camping out with her family ensuring a frontrow view of the Rose Parade.
This year, Brunston moves from spectator to participant as a member of the 2025 Rose Court.
Brunston said the families that camped out each year near a Taco Bell on Colorado Boulevard, between Allen Avenue and Sierra Madre Boulevard, may only have spent time together for one day out of the year but became friends.
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Her dad would pick up donuts and Saniyah would settle in and watch colorful floats, bands and performers go by. A standout every year would be the Rose Court’s float.
“I never actually thought that I would make it on the Court,” Brunston said. “I tried out because it was something I wanted to do but I wasn’t truly expecting to make it as far as I did.”
That disbelief could be seen in the video of the Rose Court announcement, Brunston said, when her mind went blank upon hearing her number, school and name announced. She said the surprise was quickly replaced by a smile.
Since the announcement Brunston and the court have attended community events. A visit to the Friends in Deed tea party, was particularly impactful to Brunston. Friends in Deed is a Pasadena-based nonprofit which provides services for unhoused people.
“I never would have been able to do something like that if it weren’t for me being on the court, which I truly appreciate because now I’m connecting with different parts of my community that I’ve never connected with before,” Brunston said.
Brunston has a background in nonprofit work, volunteering for the Light Bringer Project, a Pasadena-based organization, which provides underserved youth with arts and educational programs. Through her work with the nonprofit, Brunston utilized her fluency in American Sign Language.
She learned to sign before speaking, inspired by her grandmother who is deaf.
“When you meet a deaf person they’re always surprised. They are so surprised when a person that’s not like a certified translator knows ASL,” Brunston said. “It’s a beautiful, amazing experience because you get to connect with someone who most likely doesn’t feel connected to most people in their everyday lives.”
At Muir High School, Brunston is captain of the volleyball team, chief media officer of the Black Student Union, secretary of the Associated Student Body and a long jumper on the track and field team.
She plans to study law or forensic psychology at Jackson State University, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University or UC Santa Barbara.