From America’s Next Top Model
on TV’s UPN
by Trisha Bleau Smith
T4J: Can you share a brief testimony of how you came to accept Christ and what He has done in your life?
KW: I accepted Christ at a very young age and have been in Church all my life. When I finally accepted him it was really like getting a lot closer to my family. We had a lot more in common since we shared the Lord and since then I’ve seen a big turn in my life. I’ve overcome a lot of obstacles thru prayer and thru studying the bible and thru Christian friends. I have faith and that’s the one thing – you cannot lose faith out of everything. Actually being able to follow my dreams and how I got there was thru my faith in the Lord.
T4J: What made you decide to be a part of a show such as America’s Next Top Model?
KW: This has always been a dream of mine – before even deciding to go to school – I’ve always wanted to model. When the opportunity came about I wanted to jump on it because you never know what can happen. I just decided to pursue that because its something I’ve always wanted to do and I know that its given me a great opportunity. I know that I can really do the job and make something big of myself.
T4J: Please share with us how the show has affected your life and what you have learned from participating in such a high media event.
KW: Actually the show has changed my life as far as the way that certain people look at me now – people really refer to me as a celebrity. They say “I’m your biggest fan.” I have a lot of supporters, people encouraging me to do my best – now its like the positive people are really pushing for me because I’m from a small town and nothing really big has happened to anyone in this town. They see how hard its been and I really just learned that I can’t put on a show for everybody – that I have to just be myself and remain steadfast and that is really what got me thru this competition and to the point where I was. A lot of things were going on around me – and I’m a very determined person. But the number one thing that got me thru this was my faith – I’ve learned to always be confident in myself regardless of what is going on around me and I was always going to just be real regardless of what others are doing.
T4J: Please share something that you admire about each of the ladies you met on the show and/or something you learned from each of them.
KW: Ebony – I just really saw how bad she wanted it and the desire – she was willing to stop at nothing to get it – that kind of fire and determination can get you a long way – I’ve learned from her that you’ve got to be serious when it comes to getting what you want.
Robin – I’ve learned that being a Christian is hard and no matter how bad people act around you, you still have to stand strong in your Christianity. From both Robin and Shannon, I’ve learned never to compromise for anybody or any amount of money – I would much rather have my pride and integrity than all this money or have to have my head hanging low.
Adrienne – I really like the fact that she was just so herself. She didn’t bite her tongue. If she had something to say she just said it. You have to realize that everybody doesn’t speak like you do, and you have to be able to deal with other personalities.
T4J: What was it like living in such close proximity with so many other women? What was it like having cameras and extra people around you all the time?
KW: Well, living with everybody in the house was interesting. For one, all these 10 ladies in one house – I just knew before I got there that it would be crazy. But it wasn’t as bad as I expected – here and there, there would be confrontations but it would be quickly resolved. I felt like a lot of us became close. As for the cameras – at first they would bother you – like, they would sneak up on you – but after a while, you kinda forgot that they were there.
T4J: How did you faith affect the way you acted or responded on the show? Did you faith come in to play at all during any of the episodes or experiences?
KW: My faith had a big impact on the way I acted on the show. It was why I kept my composure. I never judged the other girls based on what I’ve been thru or what I’ve seen – and I didn’t know the different kinds of experiences that they had been thru. I don’t think I was really ever put in a predicament because my faith was always there – but I was also never put on the spot like Shannon and Robin were. Also, I could speak with the other girls as well as Robin and Shannon – I was kinda in the middle of everybody.
T4J: Many of our readers and visitors struggle with self image and set expectations for their appearance that is nearly impossible. Being one of “the beautiful people” how do you handle this? Do you struggle with how you look? Do you find what others have to say about how you look hard to take?
KW: Well no – I don’t struggle at all with how I look. I always try to work out and stay in shape – but that’s for personal reasons. I feel like if you don’t have anything good to say about me or the way I look then people should just keep it to themselves, but I don’t really get a whole lot of negative vibes from people. When they do say things – I just go on for the most part. God has made me like this and that’s how he wants me.
T4J: What advice would you give to our readers who may struggle with self image and self worth?
KW: Just to be happy with yourself cuz if you’re showing that you’re not happy other people are going to prey on that and build on that. If you are confident and if you love yourself, then others are going to do the same.
T4J: Though not all of our visitors are youth we do have a huge majority that are in this age category. What advice would you give to the youth of this world?
KW: Basically just always believe in yourself and believe that you can succeed in anything and don’t let anyone tell that you can’t because you can do all things thru Christ.
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