Briley Haskins begins her day like most other teens. She wakes up, gets ready and heads to school. But that’s where the similarities end, because unlike any other teen in Northern California, Haskins is one of 30 models in the country competing for the chance to become Seventeen Magazine’s Glam Camp winner.
Glam Camp is a modeling competition sponsored by Rite Aid in which girls from all over the nation send in portfolios to be judged by professionals at Seventeen Magazine. From the thousands of initial submissions, 30 girls were chosen to participate in an online voting competition, which ends Sept. 30. The 10 finalists will be judged by Seventeen Magazine on five new photo submissions and a video entry. From there, Seventeen will choose two runners-up and a grand prize winner, who receives a trip to New York and a prize package valued at $4,900.
For Haskins, who has never modeled professionally, this contest began as a starting point to a career she always had an interest in but never got a professional chance at.
“I started with little things, like modeling for my aunt’s photography business,” Haskins said. “I get Seventeen (magazine) and when I saw the contest, I decided to do it for fun.”
Though the competition began as a fun chance for Haskins to pursue modeling, she has found that is takes a lot more than a pretty smile and a professional photograph.
“The competition has been difficult so far. Every day I print more and more flyers and do promotion the whole day. I have to tell everyone I see (to vote for me). Then I go home and I have to update all my statuses and go to a lot of businesses to hang up my posters,” Haskins said.
Haskins has dedicated significant amounts of time to the contest, but she isn’t alone in her efforts.
“I get home every day at 9 p.m. after hanging posters at local businesses like dance studios, Primo’s and Tops,” Haskins said. “My mom is pretty dedicated to my cause, and she has spent $300 on posters already. We may also get shirts for my friends and me to wear.”
Their hard work already seems to be paying off.
“Agents from Florida and New York are already contacting me, but I wouldn’t want to move when I’m still in high school. I would rather work with agents closer to home, like those in San Francisco,” Haskins said.
Despite these big chances, Haskins does not believe that winning is all that matters to her.
“Even if I don’t win, I’ll be disappointed, but it’s still a big accomplishment to get this far. I won’t take it for granted,” Haskins said. “I would love to continue with modeling if I got the chance, but I also have other goals I want to pursue.”
She hopes to go into broadcasting or acting, or perhaps even facial reconstruction, an interest sparked by her mother’s love of television shows about medicine.
“(Facial reconstruction) is not about people’s beauty. It’s about helping their personalities shine through. I don’t just want to go into plastic surgery, I want to help people with facial deformities boost their confidence and feel better about themselves,” Haskins said.
Students can vote for contestants at http://www.glamcamp.com/model-search/semi-finalists/ and find out who the finalists are Oct. 1.
by SHAI NIELSON, KAVYA PATHAK & EMMA RICHIE
