Round 1: Bonus Round

Briefly describe what it is that you do and why you love it.




I am a Fashion Model and part time Fashion photographer, both jobs which are pretty self-explanatory.

As a young, tall, shy and very awkward San Franciscan girl, I would have never expected to become a model. It was under the suggestion of my aunt that I decided to enter into a modeling competition when I was 13 years old, and to my suprise I won. I then moved to New York City with my family, to begin my modeling career, debuting at New York Fashion Week in 2001.

I didn't begin my career as a fashion photographer until much later (which may come to a surprise since I have a love for photography). The year was 2007 to be exact and I was doing a model print for Vogue Magazine, and who else would be behind the camera than, Chad Boutin. I distcintly recall asking him between takes, "Is that a Canon PowerShot G9". We exchanged words about our love for photography, and he gave me great advice on getting my foot into the door of fashion photography, and before I knew it, I was his protégée.

The life of a fashion photographer involves marketing, scheduling, directing, building or painting sets, and—not to be forgotten—taking pictures. My philosophy as a fashion photographer are in tune with the words of Chad Boutin, "it is an art form that delivers in terms of creativity and control."

I am dyslexic and I also take pride in being able to do what I love as a job without much complication from my dyslexia.

What do you do to let off steam and have fun. Briefly describe how you got interested in this and why you love it.



I absolutely love going out and seeing the world. Travel is fun and I simply travel with the sole purpose of enjoyment. I am amazed by human creation/civilizations and nature itself.

I want to see the vast variety and possibilities that can be enabled here on Earth, and traveling allows me to extract that experience from different places.

I love travelling because it broadens my horizons and helps me gain a better understanding between people and their culture. The world can be so small minded and “set in its ways”. When we travel we begin to realize there is more than one way to live life and be happy. I think it opens us up to accept people and their “differences”.

What do you do in your community to give back? Briefly describe how you got started and why you love it.



I am a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador for the United States. I travel to India, Kosovo, as well as Angola, to work with UNICEF field officers there. I've raised approximately $50,000 for South African women and children with AIDS by selling own and school's photo work.

In honor of my 24th birthday (July 11, 2009), I ran an online fundraising campaign for Charity:Water. During this fundraiser I gave up my 24th birthday in order to raise $25,000.

A special talent you have that you work to refine. Briefly describe how you got interested and why it is important to you.

[Picture will go here]

When I was a little girl I spent a great deal of time with my great grandmother. Weekends during the school year, and the entire summer - that is until my mother forced me to go home! I just loved spending time with my great-grandmother. I remember when she’d put me to bed and leave the door cracked a little. I’d wait until I heard her walking down the stairs before I crawled out of bed, anxiously waiting to get my hands on that box beneath the bed. You might be wondering what was in the box? Pictures of course! There were pictures of me as a newborn, my family and my cousins. I would pull the photos out of the plastic box and look at them for hours. I especially adored the photos of my great-grandmother throughout different stages of her life, photos are visual storybooks.

Only a couple of months before my great-grandmother's passing, she gave me my very first Polaroid Camera for Christmas when I was 10 years old. With that camera, I discovered that I loved snapping pictures as much as I loved looking at them... and later I discovered that I loved being in front of the camera as much as I loved being behind it.

Question = What do you love most about the daily life you live? What makes your life happy and special?

As a fashion photographer and model I get the luxurious oppurtunity to see plenty of beautiful faces and get to wear gorgeous fashion everyday. However, at the end of the day the face that makes my life worth living is the beautiful face of my 7-year-old son, Fox.

Being a mother is a full-time job that stands on it's own, and is also one of the most fulfilling. It gives me the oppurtunity to experience the world through the eyes of my child, a fresh perspective. I love that everything is an adventure, that what to us adults would be considered mundane things can be fun and exciting! That things we take for granted, that we don't even see anymore are suddenly entralling again.

My son makes me feel connected in a way that is so much more than I had before. I feel incredibly connected to Fox, to his future and to the world that will house him. I feel connected to my mother – I now understand so much more about who she is and what she did for me. I feel connected to other women, both mothers and non-mothers. Children bind you to your world in way that is both very scary, tiring and deeply comforting at the same time. What a trip!

edit: Incomplete. Will have to finish later....