From the dorm to the castle: how an HPU student spends her free time as a princess

From the gowns and tiaras to the fairy godmothers,

it’s nearly every little girl’s dream to be a princess when she

grows up. She plays dress up, simply allowing her

imagination to take her to another world where she

sings to animals and falls in love with a charming prince.

 

For High Point University student, Kate Robinson,

this isn’t too far off from her reality. “It’s like I get to

fulfill my childhood dreams and get paid for doing it,”

she said.

 

Most HPU students find themselves working in restaurants,

coffee shops or on campus. 

 

However, Kate finds her petite self stepping into a large, pink ball gown with puffy sleeves and detailed gold stitching. She does her own makeup so that her skin appears flawless and her eyes pop like a princess. She finishes her look with a red-velvet colored wig to mask her natural, dirty blonde hair. 

 

Kate, 19, currently works for Reserving Royalty Character Company and Fairytale Palace where she participates in children’s special events, charity appearances and birthday party visits.

 

“There's something magical in every party. Honestly, just making these kids' days is so special,” she said. 

 

Kate was once a young girl who admired and idolized the princesses she watched on her screen. She and her older sister, Alyssa, would dress up as their favorite Disney characters and make frequent trips to Walt Disney World with their parents. At that age, the crowds and heat were worth it if it meant meeting Snow White and Cinderella. 

 

“We dressed up as princesses when we were little,” Alyssa said, “and now we’re still doing that.” 

 

It was Alyssa who first introduced Kate to this passion. She began working with Reserving Royalty as a college student just a few years prior.

 

Reserving Royalty's founder, Hannah Cutts, began her company in 2016 after graduating with a degree in film from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The idea came about when she discovered that North Carolina lacked highly realistic princess and character portrayals.

 

Cutts had a similar upbringing to Kate and Alyssa. “My family took me to Disney too much as a kid,” she said. “My youth was spent visiting theme parks and then immediately followed by me putting on plays, dances and reenactments of the stories I saw and heard.” 

 

An important part of who they are as a company is the community. Reserving Royalty is a small, family-run business with the desire to serve their neighbors and a dream to create magical moments for local families. With the belief that no detail is too small, Hannah and her mother, Sue, love and live for that magical moment when children see their heroes and role models come to life.

 

As someone who grew up in entertainment and theater, portraying a different character isn’t foreign to Kate. She started doing small modeling gigs and local commercials at a young age, and eventually, she began working in the entertainment department at Six Flags Great Escape at 13 years old.

 

Kate would spend her day escorting characters around the crowded amusement park, where excessive long lines of people impatiently waited to get on a ride. She also had the opportunity to dress up as characters like Alice in Wonderland. In this costume, she would have dance parties with children whose smiles went from ear to ear.

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Kate has dedicated so much of her time to being someone other than herself. “There are some days when I roll out of bed and think to myself, ‘Wow, who am I?’”

 

In a society that often places stereotypes and pressures on young women, it’s not always easy to feel confident in your own skin. “There are the stereotypes that every princess has to be skinny, has to be rich and needs some beautiful gown to be pretty,” Kate said.

 

Although she always feels like a princess when the gown is on, it isn't always easy to feel like one when it is off. Kate has struggled with self-confidence since she was a teen and still finds it difficult to see her beauty when she looks in the mirror. In the past, she has compared herself to the girls she sees on social media, wondering why she doesn't look like that too.

 

“Something I feel that's so special about my company, though, is that we're a size inclusive company. You can literally be any size and be a princess, the costumes are all adjustable,” Kate said. She feels it’s important that she is portrayed as a princess but also as a human.

 

Kate’s confidence grows each time she sees the impact she has on the impressionable young girls that she interacts with.

 

At her first party this year, she questioned whether or not she could continue this job as a busy college sophomore. She is actively involved in organizations on campus and recently joined a sorority, one that emphasizes the importance

of building confidence in women.

She entered the birthday party in an icy blue dress that matched her blue eyes. She wore a

blonde, braided wig to complete the look. The room was filled with the screams of

excitement and joy that came from each girl. 

 

Dressed up as the ice queen, Elsa, she asks a young girl at the end of the party,

“What was your favorite part?” 

 

The young girl replied, “Hugging you.”

 

It’s these small moments that motivate Kate to keep doing what she loves.

 

“It's definitely helped me gain confidence,” Kate said. “It sounds so silly, but it's not

even putting on the ball gowns and feeling beautiful. It's that you're making these kids’ day,

and you're also helping them feel confident about themselves.” 

 

Even if it's just for an hour, Kate has seen the powerful impact a princess' smiling face can make in a child's day. She still remembers the princesses who would come to her birthday parties when she was younger and how beautiful they would make her feel.

 

“As much as I would love to be a princess for the rest of my life, I don't think that would be able to happen,” Kate said. “But I do feel like I'm making a difference in the world.”