Flash forward to Jan. 2, 2023: It’s Princess Salia Baligh on the float carrying the 134th Tournament of Roses Royal Court. She is perfectly coiffed and prettily made up, gowned and crowned, a wash of flowers in her arms.
Somebody saw this day coming.
“Growing up in Pasadena, I watched so many Rose Parades,” the 17-year-old said. “My dad would wake me up at 6 a.m. and tell me, ‘That’s going to be you one day.’”
She turns her head, and look: Her position on the right side of the float gives maximum exposure for the cameras to catch the simple headband she wears attached to a small black box.
This accessory is a Cochlear Baha hearing aid.
“I want everyone to see me embracing my hearing aid and show the world even if you have a disability, you can be a Rose Princess,” Salia said. “I want to have all people with and without hearing loss know who I am by telling my story and spreading awareness that being deaf does not define you.”
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Salia (pronounced Salya) is a senior at Alverno Heights Academy in Pasadena. She is Egyptian, and Muslim, captain of her school basketball team, and like her fellow Rose Court royalty, owner of a resume brimming over with accomplishments and skills.
But as the first princess to represent the deaf community, Salia said she hopes to inspire young women to embrace their differences and to be the role model she yearned for when she was younger.
“Girls with disabilities can be princesses, too,” said Marina Salais-Robbins, of Cochlear Americas. The company produced the hearing device that helped Salia with her hearing impairment five years ago.
“My right ear hears well, while on my left, I get 40 percent hearing,” Salia said. “I do the majority of my hearing using lip reading, having great eye visuals and looking at body language. I’m also learning American Sign Language.”
Born with no ear canals in both ears and after undergoing two failed reconstructive surgeries, Salia said she turned a corner after she got a Cochlear Baha device, a bone conduction solution for people with hearing loss, and single-sided deafness. For the last five years, her Baha has allowed her to participate in school activities, social events, and now the Tournament of Roses.
“(My earliest memory) I remember being in the classroom,” she said. “We were watching an old movie on YouTube and it didn’t have captioning. I couldn’t hear so I fell asleep.”
Princess Salia Baligh (Courtesy of Tournament of Roses)
Her mother Dalia Abougharbia is a staunch advocate for her oldest child.
“After my last surgery, I was at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles so much it felt like I lived there,” Salia said. “My Mom always took me.”
From her mother, Salia said she learned to never give up.
“She says it’s not in her blood,” Abougharbia said. “We struggle, yes. We’re upset for a minute, then we go on.”
From her father Samer, Salia inherited an easy charm and a solid work ethic. The family owns two anime collection stores called Super Fantasyland in Glendale and Northridge.
“My Dad gave me confidence to be a hard-working female,” Salia said “He taught me to have a good smile. A smile spreads so much joy in the world. It does so much for people. He taught me about determination and hard work. Hard work will beat talent any day.”
Rose Parade Princess Salia Baligh, with her fellow princesses. (Courtesy of Tournament of Roses)
Salia works through her hearing impairment as captain and point guard for Alverno’s varsity basketball team.
“I do have bad balance because of it, but it’s all about training yourself. Repetition,” she said. “I fall a lot. But I have great eye visuals and a good shooting form. It’s hard, but I try my best.”
Salia plans to study medicine with a focus on sports or ear, nose and throat and keep cheering for her favorite Clippers (“I like the underdogs.”) Her family has calculated watch times for relatives in Egypt, Dubai, Denmark and Germany who will be tuning it to watch the girl they tease is now their very own “Miss America.”
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Salia is proud to take on any role if it means she can shine a light.
“Find hope in a hopeless situation,” she said. “Having that mentality made me the first hearing-impaired Princess. Being on the Rose Court, there’s no way it’s just about being on TV. The story behind that is important.”
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