From Wimberley to NYC Runway Model

Cheer practice, UIL tournaments and taking classes sounds like a regular schedule for any high school student. And it is for WHS sophomore Paige Merriman, but there is also an added element to her life. Many young women dream of the opportunity to have a modeling career, and Paige is living that dream of walking the runway while balancing the ever persistent schedule of a high school student.

Paige is a runway model at fifteen years of age, and she’s only been doing this for about a year. “I started with a national pageant when I was 14. And through that, I met a few designers... and met this designer Marc Defang. And he asked me to go to New York and Orlando with him.” Defang is a New York designer.

Pictures and vital statistics were submitted by both the pageant director and her mother Beverly, who is her chaperone on her modeling assignments. Then she was accepted, sight unseen. Florida was her first opportunity.

“My first experience, I wasn’t really sure what to think, because I was used to being around pageant girls. The models, they’re different. They’re a lot more full of themselves and stuck up. I thought, ‘ Okay, I’m going to have to get used to this.’ But then we went to New York and everyone was a lot more calm and used to it. I was a lot more prepared to speak to them and everyone was super nice to me. I was more experienced,” Paige said.

“Because it all happened so fast, getting to meet the designers, the people who are so experienced in the field, and then all the clothes that you get to try on and the shoes that you get to model. I love it. It’s so exciting.”

Competing on such a high level is hard for a fifteen year old, but not so much when mom’s around. “My mom has always been giving me great advice. Growing up, she taught me how to talk to mature people; I’ve always thought I’m an old soul, in talking to designers. I’ve always looked up to the fashion people, always have been a girly girl.”

Being on a runway with fashionistas staring at you has to be a little nerve racking, as it would affect anyone. “I definitely get nervous a few minutes before we go on backstage, but it’s super exciting when you’re out there. It’s totally worth it... There are no thoughts in your mind when you’re on stage. It’s amazing.”

When she’s not on the runway, she’s pretty much a regular student. She is the baby of the family, as she has an older brother and sister. She competes in UIL Journalism competitions and as a cheerleader on the WHS varsity squad as a sophomore.

“I’m on varsity cheer this year. I was on JV cheer last year. And when we moved here, at the end of sixth grade, I tried out and did Middle School cheer. I’ve been doing cheer my whole life.”

Back at school after a modeling assignment, fellow students had questions. “I get a lot of questions about modeling ... The day I got back from New York, they’re asking me all these questions telling me that they wish they could just get in my suitcase and come with me next time.”

Modeling has its ups and downs and it can weigh on your mind, hoping for and achieving success. But there are also downs.

“I would definitely say that failure is a fear in the back of my mind. I do think what would I do if this didn’t work, but I always try to think on the positive side of things and hope for the best. And most of the time, I can work through it and find a solution. But, even if I do fail, I always try for the best, because if you don’t try, then you can’t succeed.”