Modeling a plan for her future
For Williams, the word of others may have kicked started her modeling career. “People were telling me how I would be really good at modeling because I was tall and skinny and so I said sure I’ll think about,” Elissa said.
Originally Elissa signed with the Clutts Agency but later started searching for a new agency. “The end of this year I submitted online to and agency in St. Louis which is called Mother Model Management and its like a development agency,” Elissa said. “I got an email back about facetiming and just learning more about our personalities.”
With her agency wanting her to get the full experience of modeling at the age of just 17, Elissa has plans to travel around the world this summer. “My agency wants me to travel to LA, Mexico City and Tokyo, just places like that for the experience while I’m still 17 during during this summer,” she said.
Thinking she may begin her journey in Los Angeles, senior Elissa Williams will be able to jumpstart her modeling career. Going wherever her agent thinks best, Williams will start to travel across the world in order to fulfill her dream of being an international model.
With her parents support behind her, Elissa has a full career ahead of her after graduation. “We only wanted the best for Elissa from the very beginning,” her father Edward Williams said. “The modeling to us seems to be more of a opportunity to chase what could be something very few people get to achieve.”
A modeling career isn’t the plan many parents have for their children, but Elissa’s mom is proud of what she is doing. “It wasn’t what we pictured, but ultimately you have to let your child decide what they want to do in life and what makes them happy,” Tracey said.
Rather than wait until May 2021, Williams may get a jump start on her post-graduation plans by getting her diploma in December and then moving to New York City to pursue modeling full time.
Posing with fellow models, junior Elissa Williams hopes to further pursue modeling into the future and eventually move to New York with other models.
Standing in front of a white screen, junior Elissa Williams takes part in a photoshoot. If things go as planned, Williams will graduate early to pursue a professional modeling career.
Spontaneous advise rarely leads to someone finding a career all too often, but for junior Elissa Williams, the word of others may have kicked started her modeling career.
“People were telling me how i would be really good at modeling because I was tall and skinny and so I said sure I’ll think about,” Elissa said. “And later my mom asked me if I would like to sign up for this model search thing in Dallas and so I signed up the day before it ended and I ended up being a finalist in it.”
my mom asked me if I would like to sign up for this model search thing in Dallas and so I signed up the day before it ended and I ended up being a finalist in it,
— junior Elissa Williams
Originally Elissa signed with the Clutts Agency but later started searching for a new agency
“The end of this year I submitted online to and agency in St. Louis which is called Mother Model Management and its like a development agency,” Elissa said. “I got an email back about facetiming and just learning more about our personalities.”
The agency in St. Louis invited her to do some modeling for them in the summer of 2018 which led her to another agency.
“They ended up really liking me so I went to St. Louis during summer and did some new face stuff with them and then later on in the fall I went to do a fashion show with them,” Elissa said. “After I did the fashion show, during the same weekend I went to casting to sign with different agencies. And one of those agencies which is world wide really liked me and so I signed with them, it’s called Next Models.”
The potential to pursue a career in modeling may bring her high school career to an early end.
“I plan on graduating early and my options are to either graduate before next year starts in August and if I do that then I would have to start my classes for next year like right now and I don’t think i’ll be able to do that on top of the school work I already have,” Elissa said. “And even if I decide to do that I wouldn’t be able to go to fashion week until I was 18 which is in October or I can graduate next December, which is the better option so that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Only 17, her agency wants her to travel and get a feel of what the life of a model can be like.
“My agency wants me to travel to LA, Mexico City and Tokyo, just places like that for the experience while I’m still 17 during during this summer,” Elissa said.
Throughout all of this, her parents feel that modeling is a great opportunity for her to chase something that can be good for her.
“We only wanted the best for Elissa from the very beginning,” her father Edward said. “The modeling to us seems to be more of a opportunity to chase what could be something very few people get to achieve which could be a major modeling career beyond that we’ve made sure, Elissa has made sure that she has the ability to still be successful in any career that she chooses if the modeling didn’t work out. We feel comfortable that she has the ability and the skill to do whatever it is that she wants to do.” Along with modeling she is also going to get a college degree and for that we can’t be prouder that she is an independent young woman, — mom Tracey Williams
After graduating, Elissa hopes to move to New York.
“When I’m 18 and graduate December next year I will hopefully move to New York into a model apartment,” Elissa said. Which is basically an apartment where you live with models from the same agency and the agency pays the rent for us but we would pay them back later once we start earning our own money.”
Although modeling isn’t what her parents envisioned for Elissa, they are proud of her chosen path.
“It wasn’t what we pictured, but ultimately you have to let your child decide what they want to do in life and what makes them happy,” her mom Tracey said. “Along with modeling she is also going to get a college degree and for that we can’t be prouder that she is an independent young woman who knows what she wants and she goes after it.”
Kanz Bitar is currently a senior who joined Wingspan her junior year. She has since her freshman year involved herself with many creative pursuits. She...
