A Supermodel

 A few months ago, I had a really cool opportunity pop up… Special Olympics Maryland’s, Vice President of Athlete Leadership, Jason Schriml, emailed me and a few other athletes about being a model for a SOI (Special Olympics International) merchandise photoshoot. SOI wanted to use athletes from various Special Olympics local programs for this photoshoot and I was honored to do it. 


When I was growing up, I never saw people with an intellectual or developmental disability on magazines or as “stars”, it just wasn’t an opportunity people like me were given, and being able to show someone else that they are capable of doing anything they set their minds to has been an unexpected but rewarding experience!


 I talked to my mom about the event and let Jason know that I was interested, and he said that he would let them know I was interested. I never expected to wait so long! Because they were only choosing 6 athletes for the photoshoot… I have never modeled before, and I wasn’t sure if I was the person for the job, but then Jason emailed and said I was selected! I had never gotten pictures taken of me, so preparing for the photoshoot was out of my comfort zone, but Jason sent more information as he got it and I was ready for my day in front of the camera!



SOI sent us a website that we needed to look at and pick out clothing. The clothing we were going to pick out from the website was the clothes we would possibly be wearing the day of the photoshoot. I sent in the outfits that I was hoping to wear. One of the shirts I selected was the black shirt.



Jason had sent us the email of where we were supposed to meet. We were supposed to meet at the Special Olympics International office in Washington DC at 9am on Thursday October 27,2022. There would be six athletes that would be a part of the photoshoot. I was excited and nervous and emotions were running high but I was so excited to meet the athletes from DC, Virginia, and Maryland. 


I got to the office. I hadn’t been to DC in awhile and there was a lot of traffic. I was really nervous about the photoshoot. I was nervous because I had never been a part of a photoshoot. The SOI office was big and on the wall there was a timeline with pictures from each year since Special Olympics started and some quotes! 


Everyone at Special Olympics International was so welcoming. The athletes were so great to meet in person. I even met a few athletes that I met during the pandemic and some I hadn’t met in-person.


 We all had about five items of clothing. I was the second athlete to go to get my modeling with the outfit. I tried on the red shirt and black Special Olympics. Then I tried on some hats and two ¼ zip up shirts. 


It was a really great experience to have photos being taken of me. I went from nervous to confident when the staff at SOI started getting pictures of me. After I had taken all of my pictures, I just talked with the other athletes while they were finishing up the photoshoot. Then we all got a group photo together and said our goodbyes. 


It was a great photoshoot and I am so excited that I got to be a supermodel for a day, I hope I get other opportunities like this one. I think it is wonderful that they wanted to feature athletes in the store. The pictures turned out awesome, and I can’t wait for you to see all of the official pictures! Keep an eye out for me because they will be featured on the Special Olympics merchandise store! 

Comments

  1. Sam LivingstonFebruary 7, 2023 at 9:53 AM

    Very nice Alexea, I cannot wait to see your pictures in magazines. Also looking forward to seeing pictures at the special Olympics merchandise stores.

    #keepitup

    ReplyDelete

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