Justine Meierhofer, 21

Hometown: Minneapolis
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 125 lbs.

Essay

I didn't spend a lifetime grooming myself to be a beautiful, delicate girl. I don't starve myself, and I am not just a pretty face. Instead, I spent my high school days living on a dairy farm, pitching bails, driving tractors, and milking cows. When I came inside the house at the end of the day, I proudly wore a stench of manure and a layer of dirt under my nail beds. During my college years, I have worked out five days per week and eat a balanced diet to make sure I am healthy. I want to be a role model for girls out there and show that it is more important to employ healthy habits than to be thin. Lastly, I've worked hard to complete an undergraduate degree in three years and to gain acceptance and earn a scholarship to the University of Minnesota's College of Pharmacy program (a program ranked fourth nationally). I know how to work hard to achieve my goals, and I want other girls to know they can do it, too. This combination of hard work, healthy living, and higher education makes me different. It is because I don't fit the cookie-cutter “model” description that I have exactly what it takes to be a REAL model.