UCLA student has modeling hobby down to a science

Jaclyn Perry stopped in South Campus to make sure she had everything she needed for the day: a biochemistry lab manual, notebooks, a lab coat and a pair of high heels for an upcoming photoshoot.

The fourth-year neuroscience student is entering her third year as a fashion model. For Perry, modeling is a means to gain confidence and pursue a passion outside of neuroscience.

“One of the main reasons I got involved in modeling to begin with in college is because neuroscience is such a heavy, tough major,” Perry said. “It’s really given me an opportunity to take a break from the hard sciences and do something more for me.”

Perry first had dreams of modeling when she was a child, but she did not think it was possible because of the lack of modeling opportunities in her hometown of St. Louis, she said. However, when she left St. Louis for Los Angeles to attend UCLA, she took advantage of the move to start her modeling career.

[Related: Student launches career on ‘America’s Next Top Model’]

In her sophomore year, Perry applied to be a model for the Fashion and Student Trends runway show. After she got accepted to her first show, she walked for the Hip Hop Appreciation Month exhibit that same year. She said she gained confidence from the first FAST show.

“It was amazing because I had built that moment up so much in my mind and as a little kid, I had always dreamed about modeling,” Perry said.

Aaron Kinsfather, a fourth-year psychology student and Perry’s friend, said he was surprised when he found out about Perry walking for FAST because she had not told anyone beforehand.

Perry is a seemingly reserved person upon first meeting her, Kinsfather said, and her more confident personality shows through over time. Modeling was one of the first times he got to see that dynamic side of her.

“She just seems like a different person on the runway,” Kinsfather said. “She just exudes this confidence that you wouldn’t know she had at first glance.”

However, practicing both modeling and neuroscience has forced Perry into some stressful situations.

During the Hip-Hop Appreciation Month fashion show when Perry was a sophomore, the group scheduled her to walk the Ackerman Grand Ballroom runway on the same day as her Life Sciences 2: “Cells, Tissues and Organs” midterm in La Kretz Hall.

After getting her hair done up and fake eyelashes carefully applied to her lash line, she ran to her midterm, took her midterm in the makeup and ran back to the fashion show just in time to walk the runway.

It was one of the first times she had worn fake eyelashes, so she could barely read her midterm through the thick lashes.

“(I) got all sorts of looks from people around me who must have thought I was just all glammed up to take the test,” Perry said.

After her shows for Hip Hop Appreciation Week and FAST, Perry pursued modeling through trade shoots, which are photo shoots with non-professional UCLA student photographers.

[Read: UCLA student strives to shatter beauty standards in modeling industry]

Angeline Dy, a fourth-year fine arts student, photographed Perry in the past. Dy was looking for models to pose for a concept she had and came across Perry through word of mouth. Perry is a talented model because she helps embody the vision of the photographer, she said.

“She fully trusted me,” Dy said. “That’s really important as a model because the model is in front of the camera, portraying what the photographer directs.”

After her sophomore year, Perry continued to participate in FAST, walking in the show again in 2016 and working as the executive modeling director in 2017.

Amy Cho, a fourth-year communication studies student and the president of FAST, worked together with Perry in the club.

Cho said the club has some members who are South Campus majors like Perry, and that she appreciates their dedication towards highlighting creativity in the arts. The club’s events coordinator is a South Campus student and comes up with innovative ideas for group bonding and fundraising, including throwing a scavenger hunt for the models made up of activities such as the mannequin challenge, Cho said.

“Even though I feel like South Campus and North Campus are seen as such contrasting studies, all in all anyone can appreciate what they find interesting or beautiful,” Cho said.

Perry’s memorable moments from modeling go beyond FAST and into the photoshoot realm as well. Perry said some requests from photographers during photoshoots have placed her in awkward positions.

For Perry’s first semi-nude photoshoot, the photographer wanted to put sand on her pelvis and on her face. However, after putting the sand on her face, it got in her eyes and she couldn’t breathe, so they had to remove the sand for the rest of the shoot.

“A lot of times when you are modeling, what looks the best in pictures ends up being what’s most uncomfortable for the model,” Perry said.

Perry plans to continue to model while attending medical school, ideally in California. Though neuroscience can be difficult and complex, modeling is an equally intricate aspect of Perry’s life, she said.

“Modeling is actually a lot more complex than people think,” Perry said. “It’s not just about looking pretty or posing … there’s actually a lot of science that goes into it about lighting and angles and showing your best attributes and hiding your flaws and working with all the people behind the camera.”