Rose Princess Kimberly Ostiller Dreams of Creating Smiles

Kimberly Ostiller has an enthusiasm for life and service that has taken her from the “cozy little town” of Altadena to Tanzania, with a lots of time spent assisting in the Young & Healthy mobile dental clinic.  Along the way, she has become a princess in the 94th Tournament of Roses Royal Court.

Kimberly has spent the last three summers working with orthodontists to prepare for a career in orthodontia.  She discovered her passion to bring smiles to others when she did a job swap with her orthodontist’s son, who was a year ahead of her at Flintridge Preparatory School.

“I was hoping to go to summer camp,” she said.  Going to the beach was also on her druthers list, “but I thought I would do this for one summer to help out a family friend.  After working, one summer, I loved it.

“I love smiling,” she said, and added that helping people with their smiles and seeing them become more confident is rewarding.

She worked two summers for her orthodontist and spent last summer interning at a dentist in South Pasadena.  She also volunteers with Young & Healthy, a Pasadena-based non-profit that provides mental, dental, and medical care to underinsured and uninsured children, ages 0-18.

“Many people can’t afford medical care, and Young & Healthy has all these doctors and dentists as a resource,” Kimberly stated.  “They find a doctor who will provide service pro bono.  One of my favorite parts is the mobile dental clinic,” where she gets hands-on skills, she said. 

The clinic is usually held at John Muir High School in a conference room set up with chairs and supplies and staffed by dental students, usually from USC.  Kimberly noted that some of the children have to sit for hours, and that they can only come once.  The goal of Young & Healthy is to teach the children to take care of their teeth.

“It teaches me how fortunate I am,” she said.

Asked if she thought she might go into pediatric orthodontics, Kimberly noted that the clientele for orthodontia skews towards preteen and teenagers, but she would like to work with adults as well.  “It’s just as helpful, and they deserve it, too,” she said, and happily related meeting an 80-year-old woman with braces at an event.  The woman just happened to be using Kimberly’s orthodontist.

Now a senior at Flintridge Prep, the 17-year-old attended St. Mark’s School for her elementary years.  She likes the community feel of Altadena.  “It’s really intimate and beautiful with all the trees and mountains to the north,” she said, adding that she also likes how near it is to Pasadena. 

A true Southern California girl, Kimberly has applied mainly to colleges in California.  She has already been accepted to UC San Diego, Loyola Marymount, and Santa Clara University, among others, and is waiting to hear from USC.

But she’s not a stay-at-home kind of gal.  Her love of traveling, learning about different cultures, and passion for service led her to spend several weeks last summer in Tanzania with Global Leadership Adventures.  She said she has always wanted to go to Africa, and after researching programs, chose GLA because of its emphasis on community service.

While she was in the country, she taught English to fourth-graders on weekdays and participated in cultural activities on weekends.  The first weekend was spent with a Masai tribe and taking a nature walk in the area.  She said she felt very safe with the tribe.

“Men in the Masai culture kill a lion to become a warrior, so they are very strong and known for jumping high,” she related.  “It was fun because they said we would never be safer in life because we were protected by warriors.”

Kimberly appreciates the education she got on the trip, learning about culture, food, and customs.  Speakers talked about social issues such as AIDS and the Rwandan genocide.

“I learned so much on the trip, more than in all my years of schooling,” she related.  “It’s so interesting to compare U.S. culture to Tanzanian culture.  I would definitely recommend traveling to Africa.”

The Rose Princess embarked on another adventure this fall.  She tried out for the Tournament of Roses Royal Court, and won a spot.   “I told myself that even if I didn’t make it onto the court, it would be a rewarding experience,” she said.  “I would definitely recommend that every girl who is eligible should try out.”

The last question Kimberly fielded had to do with the pink dress she wore to each one of the Royal Court tryout events.  What does she plan on doing with it now?

“Oooh—my lucky pink dress.  Maybe I should frame it after this,” she said.  “Maybe I should wear it to special functions.  It was a great experience, to wear to [my brother’s] graduation, and throughout the tryout process.  Or maybe if the Royal Court has a reunion, I’ll wear it to that.”

The 123rd Rose Parade and 98th Rose Bowl Game takes place on Monday, Jan. 2, 2012.  Kimberly will be there.