Former Rose Queen achieves success at CSUB

The 2019-20 Wasco Rose Queen Elissa Flores has managed to keep herself busy during the pandemic.

Between her several part-time jobs, she has managed to maintain a full college class schedule. Flores was spotted working behind the counter at Pizza Factory right after the restaurant held its official grand opening in 2020. She was also employed at Starbucks part time as well as cheerleading for California State University, Bakersfield.

Flores will graduate from CSUB in 2024 and plans to continue onto graduate school. She is currently majoring in Liberal Studies, which is a means of obtaining her teaching credential.

Flores was excited when she graduated from Wasco High School because she had made the CSUB cheer team. However, with the pandemic cutting into all sporting events and the canceling of all sporting events in Kern County, her cheerleading experience left a lot to be desired.

"Due to the pandemic, I haven't gotten the full experience of cheer at CSUB," Flores said. "I am continuing my passion for cheer by volunteering as a coach for the Wasco Bengals freshman team. I plan on using my coaching experience to go into teaching as a career."

One thing Flores regrets is due to the pandemic, not being able to pursue any other college activities since everything has been closed down in Kern County since March 2020. She is looking forward to the chance of experiencing the activities that CSUB has to offer and plans to become involved in a club that fits her major.

"I'm currently working almost full time at Starbucks as well as a full-time student," she added.

She also stated that the most difficult thing about college is finding time to study and finals.

She likes having the opportunity to set up her own four-year schedule plan and feels better prepared for her future.

"I definitely have changed since high school as far as having more time to focus on myself," she added. "I've learned to love myself and I would say I'm the same because I still hold my morals and ethics as I did in high school."