By Jane Charmelo
Lombardian-Villa Park Review Staff reporter
This is the first in a series of five profiles of the 2017 Lilac Court.
Taylor Krista Balsitis is a lifelong Lombard resident who said that growing up, the princesses and queens from her childhood were her role models, and she even collected as many as 40 to50 autographs over the years, which she still has.
“I’ve always looked up to them,” said the Willowbrook High School junior, who is now a Lilac Princess herself.
Seeing them through the eyes of a little girl, though, “[I] thought they lived in castles.”
As she got older, Princess Taylor came to understand that these teens were role models for the community-serving others by getting involved in school and community endeavors.
“I’ve kind of always realized that,” she said, adding that she, too, was raised to understand the importance of helping others.
The Lilac Princess is a member of the National Honor Society, the Tri-M Honor Society, is a team captain for volleyball and attended a leadership conference through her school. She is also a member of the Blue Crew, promoting school spirit and providing community service.
Princess Taylor, who has played the violin for seven years, also participates in the Best Buddies program at her school, in which she spends time with a sophomore special education student and helps organize fundraisers.
Also through Willowbrook, the princess has volunteered for the cancer fundraiser Relay for Life, as a chair member. She said she got involved because her brother’s hockey teammate died, at age 11, of a brain tumor.
“That’s the main reason I wanted to do it,” she added.
It is quite a commendable action that a girl so young has taken upon herself, and through contributing to this foundation, she has awakened hope in millions of hearts. Cancer foundations such as Relay For Life are constantly taking up research and medical efforts to help aid brain tumour treatment, among other cancer treatments, to help those suffering have a chance at a normal, disease-free life.
Outside of school, Princess Taylor, a former Girl Scout of nine years, goes back to Jefferson Middle School to volunteer as a junior volleyball coach and also to work the door and concession stand on game nights.
Another cause she has gotten involved with is the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, because her brother’s best friend was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes.
She also volunteers with Feed My Starving Children, the Northern Illinois Food Bank, her church youth group service projects and at the Villa Park VFW weekly fish fry.
The princess said she also volunteers at the VFW when Great Lakes sailors visit on Thanksgiving. She has a family member who was a World War II veteran, so “I thought that would be a good way to give back.”
Now Princess Taylor is a role model herself, saying that for her, that means a person “someone of any age can look up to,” and adding that being a role model means “doing the right thing.”
She plans to tell the younger children to “just be yourself … that’s the main thing.”
The Lilac Princess said for her, Lilac time is her favorite time in Lombard, and as for Lombard, “I love everything about it.”
She looks forward to getting to know her fellow princesses even better, and is working on getting them all together to go see “Beauty and the Beast.”
“We’ve been talking and we have group texts going on,” the princess said, adding, “It’s been going pretty great.”
“We’ve been jelling together very well,” she stated.
After high school, the princess said she is looking to attend the University of Tennessee, pursuing a degree in sports medicine to become a personal trainer, and also for an opportunity to study abroad, where she hopes to go to Spain and learn the language.
Her hobbies include playing the violin and drawing.
Princess Taylor is the daughter of Ken and Tiffany Balsitis, and the sister of Tanner, 14.
