Are you ready to be America’s next top model? The CW reality television show created by top model and TV host, Tyra Banks, “America’s Next Top Model” is in search of women from the ages of 18-27 who are 5’7″ or taller who are dynamic, articulate, interesting and enthusiastic to compete for the title of “America’s Next Top Model” and a chance to start a career in the modeling industry. On July 8 from 8 a.m. to noon, San Diegans like Kassy Kova proved they had the look and style to be “America’s Next Top Model.” Like many other local aspiring model’s, Kassy took her break from her normal day — a routine of studying art history at UC San Diego and figure skating — to attend the San Diego Channel 6/CW television Network’s open casting call for Cycle 18 of “America’s Next Top Model” at the Fashion Careers College, located on 1923 Morena Blvd. If you love modeling, then you love fashion, I say, as a former model and current accessory/fashion designer and instructor the Fashion Careers College. Models and fashion designers work together every day in the fashion industry. Both fashion designers and models have similar attributes, drive and passion for fashion and that’s why models become designers. Model’s love looking good in cloths, so why not design clothes all people look good in?” The Fashion Careers College’s talented fashion design students, Zulema Lopez, Ashley Tipton, Cornelius Mandel and Mericella Santacruz and I offered fashion sketching demonstrations using the models attending the casting to flaunt our skills relative to the fashion industry in design. Not only did every model take home their own personalized fashion illustration, the Fashion Career’s College awarded everyone attending the casting a voucher worth $500 for scholarship value toward education at the school and anyone that is cast on the show from the San Diego event at FCC will receive a one-year full scholarship worth over $20,000. If you love modeling and fashion, then you love music, and you won’t mind waiting in long lines for the opportunity of a lifetime! The Z90 radio station was on site playing great music and giving out prizes! California’s premiere fashion college, Fashion Career’s College, the CW and Z90 and all it’s hopeful contestants made the four-hour wait fun and fashionable! Keep your fingers crossed that one of our very own local beauties will make it big as America’s Next Top Model! — Holly Lauren Beedle is an established designer who has designed for luxury brands in New York City and California since her graduation from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia. She can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected].