Helena Donaldson Races Toward Community as 500 Festival Princess
Monday, May 18, 2026
As computer science major Helena Donaldson crosses the finish line of her degree, she serves as a 500 Festival Princess, leading outreach events across the state.
For Helena Donaldson, the month of May radiates joy like spokes from the wheel of a racecar, and she is sitting in the driver's seat with a smile and a wave. The Rose-Hulman senior is racing towards her May 2026 graduation, where she'll officially complete her degree in computer science with a minor in electrical and computer engineering and a certificate in international studies. May has also been royally monumental for her in another way: Donaldson was one of 33 college women selected from across Indiana to serve as a 500 Festival Princess leading up to the famed Indianapolis 500.
Chosen based on their academic performance, leadership, and community involvement, 500 Festival Princesses serve as ambassadors for the program and the flurry of events building to the "the greatest spectacle in racing" throughout the spring.
"I think it's beautiful to continue the tradition of investment in something that's so huge, not only in Indiana, but worldwide," Donaldson said. "I remember as a kid going to the parades, and I just really got the sense of awe."
Donaldson adds to a long legacy of Rose-Hulman and the Indianapolis 500. Anton Hulman, Jr., and his wife, Mary Fendrich Hulman, bequeathed to the Institute the assets of their foundation, accumulated in part from their ownership of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As a 500 Festival Princess, Donaldson was paired with a corporate mentor, Jeffrey Harrison, president and CEO of Citizens Energy Group. Harrison, a 1989 electrical engineering alumnus and Rose-Hulman Trustee, also mentored alumna Lauren Coffey Tufto (BSCHE 2024; MSEGMT, 2024) during her 500 Festival Princess reign in 2023.
"It's so cool to be able to be working on the community outreach arm of the Indy 500, and it's also such a blessing to know there's Rose-Hulman influence on the engineering side of things, on the tech side of things, on the management side of things," Donaldson said. "It's truly an honor to be continuing that legacy."
Over the last several weeks, Donaldson, an Evansville, Indiana, native, has volunteered at a myriad of events with the program, including the Indy 10-miler — a training race for the Indy Mini-Marathon — culminating in the May 23 Lucas Oil 500 Festival Parade and the May 24 Indianapolis 500. Her favorite royal duties thus far have been fueling elementary school students' excitement for STEM, their home state, and of course, racing.
"I think inspiring joy in the younger generation is so important because joy really then follows passion, it follows perseverance, it follows actually pursuing certain pathways in your life," she said. "It's been truly inspiring to talk with younger kids and encourage them to not only think about their place as Hoosiers, but also their futures as well. It's just lovely to give kids more insight into the world around them."
Connecting with her community in a deeply meaningful way revs Donaldson's own passion, which she drove at Rose-Hulman. She's given back to her peers in several capacities during her time as a student, including as a teaching assistant and as a member of the inaugural Computer Science & Software Engineering Student Advisory Board. Donaldson has served as a leader within the student chapter of Society of Women Engineers, helping connect the group to sponsorship, professional development, fundraising, and outreach opportunities and has sought additional mentorship and volunteering experiences through the Noblitt Scholars Program.
"My Rose-Hulman story would be defined by that kind of support and mentorship that's always been available on campus," she said, noting that she also received support from the Rose Research Fellows program, where she worked on a research project with faculty mentor Ben Jelen, PhD, assistant professor of computer science and software engineering.
Donaldson said, "Interdisciplinary work is such a fantastic thing that more students should get involved in. It's so important these days to be able to effectively communicate the power of science and technology within our community, not just creating innovations, but then explaining how those innovations are so important and can effect actual change."
As she takes her final lap at Rose-Hulman, Donaldson can see in her rearview mirror that she has made a complete circuit — in more ways than one. She recalls with fond pride the first time she successfully built a circuit for a class project as a first-year Rose-Hulman student, a moment so significant that it still lives in a place of honor on the lock screen of her phone. Now, crossing the finish line of both her time in college and as a 500 Festival Princess, Donaldson is ready to start her engines with a career as an embedded software engineer at Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri.
"This is honestly such a dream to finish off my senior year like this," she said. "It's such a thrill to go inside a school and give a very joyful opportunity for young kids to be able to see…what is out there in the real world for them."
Chosen based on their academic performance, leadership, and community involvement, 500 Festival Princesses serve as ambassadors for the program and the flurry of events building to the "the greatest spectacle in racing" throughout the spring.
"I think it's beautiful to continue the tradition of investment in something that's so huge, not only in Indiana, but worldwide," Donaldson said. "I remember as a kid going to the parades, and I just really got the sense of awe."
Donaldson adds to a long legacy of Rose-Hulman and the Indianapolis 500. Anton Hulman, Jr., and his wife, Mary Fendrich Hulman, bequeathed to the Institute the assets of their foundation, accumulated in part from their ownership of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As a 500 Festival Princess, Donaldson was paired with a corporate mentor, Jeffrey Harrison, president and CEO of Citizens Energy Group. Harrison, a 1989 electrical engineering alumnus and Rose-Hulman Trustee, also mentored alumna Lauren Coffey Tufto (BSCHE 2024; MSEGMT, 2024) during her 500 Festival Princess reign in 2023.
"It's so cool to be able to be working on the community outreach arm of the Indy 500, and it's also such a blessing to know there's Rose-Hulman influence on the engineering side of things, on the tech side of things, on the management side of things," Donaldson said. "It's truly an honor to be continuing that legacy."
Over the last several weeks, Donaldson, an Evansville, Indiana, native, has volunteered at a myriad of events with the program, including the Indy 10-miler — a training race for the Indy Mini-Marathon — culminating in the May 23 Lucas Oil 500 Festival Parade and the May 24 Indianapolis 500. Her favorite royal duties thus far have been fueling elementary school students' excitement for STEM, their home state, and of course, racing.
"I think inspiring joy in the younger generation is so important because joy really then follows passion, it follows perseverance, it follows actually pursuing certain pathways in your life," she said. "It's been truly inspiring to talk with younger kids and encourage them to not only think about their place as Hoosiers, but also their futures as well. It's just lovely to give kids more insight into the world around them."
Connecting with her community in a deeply meaningful way revs Donaldson's own passion, which she drove at Rose-Hulman. She's given back to her peers in several capacities during her time as a student, including as a teaching assistant and as a member of the inaugural Computer Science & Software Engineering Student Advisory Board. Donaldson has served as a leader within the student chapter of Society of Women Engineers, helping connect the group to sponsorship, professional development, fundraising, and outreach opportunities and has sought additional mentorship and volunteering experiences through the Noblitt Scholars Program.
"My Rose-Hulman story would be defined by that kind of support and mentorship that's always been available on campus," she said, noting that she also received support from the Rose Research Fellows program, where she worked on a research project with faculty mentor Ben Jelen, PhD, assistant professor of computer science and software engineering.
Donaldson said, "Interdisciplinary work is such a fantastic thing that more students should get involved in. It's so important these days to be able to effectively communicate the power of science and technology within our community, not just creating innovations, but then explaining how those innovations are so important and can effect actual change."
As she takes her final lap at Rose-Hulman, Donaldson can see in her rearview mirror that she has made a complete circuit — in more ways than one. She recalls with fond pride the first time she successfully built a circuit for a class project as a first-year Rose-Hulman student, a moment so significant that it still lives in a place of honor on the lock screen of her phone. Now, crossing the finish line of both her time in college and as a 500 Festival Princess, Donaldson is ready to start her engines with a career as an embedded software engineer at Boeing in St. Louis, Missouri.
"This is honestly such a dream to finish off my senior year like this," she said. "It's such a thrill to go inside a school and give a very joyful opportunity for young kids to be able to see…what is out there in the real world for them."