Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live the life of a model? To walk down a runway with all eyes on you? Wearing amazing clothes, and your hair and makeup styled to perfection by a professional artist?
Sophomore Julianna Summerlin, a Mass Communication Major from our campus, gives us the inside scoop. However, her story is much bigger than just posing for the camera. She juggles school, modeling, and plays for our women’s soccer team. Activities that certainly take some time management. Both her soccer and modeling stories began long before she graduated from North Hills Preparatory in Dallas, TX.
Julianna began playing soccer at age four. Not surprising, considering her four siblings also played. The first four years were purely recreational, but second grade started to get competitive leading her to college ball. She emphasized the transition by saying “I was playing with girls and coaches I didn’t know, doing drills I had never seen before, making me the most exhausted I had ever been in my young life.”
She began her modeling career in the sixth grade. She has always been on the taller side, and decided to pursue her interest after being persuaded by a friend. She was signed to The Campbell Agency at the age of twelve years old. With a strict 5’8”-5’10” height requirement, and limiting sizes 0-4, this narrows down the number of women that can even begin their process with the agency.
She describes her first impression of modeling as being very intense, but having a sense of “extreme amazement.” She said, “At twelve I was an awkward, gangly, stinky, five foot seven tomboy… and barely spoke.” She used the first few years as opportunity to shed her shy personality, and work towards building up to the confidence level she possesses. Modeling has given her the opportunity to network with “models who grace the covers of “People Magazine” and the Victoria Secret Runway, to makeup artists who create highly successful charity organizations in their free time.” People most young women only dream of interacting with.
Both modeling and soccer require her to maintain a healthy lifestyle, physically and mentally. The overwhelming stereotype that models don’t eat is false. “My agency loves me, they care about me, they want me to be healthy. No one has ever encouraged me to stop eating or hurt my health in any way during my eight years as a model.” The agency is big on girls reaching their body goals in a healthy fashion. She aims for a diet filled with protein and veggies, and an exercise program based off of intense circuits to keep her in shape year round.
However, the older she gets, the more competitive it is with both activities. “Modeling consistently causes you to compare yourself to others; what your measurements are, how many pictures are in your portfolio, how many agencies you are signed to, how big your social media following is.” With soccer it is a lot of comparing times and how much better someone else is at winning the ball. Even though it can be hard to not take these criticisms personally, she said “There are days I may feel a little defeated after a hard practice and an email saying I didn’t get that runway show I interviewed for, but I just have to remember it’s not the end of the world.”
To sum it all up, Julianna stressed how blessed she is for both. With soccer being part of her life for as long as she can remember, it is impossible for her to imagine life without it. As far as modeling goes, she says “I am sure I would have maintained my shy and awkward ways if it were not for modeling– it really pushed me out of my shell.” Juggling school, modeling, and soccer, she has without a doubt become a much stronger person.