Local youths nab Model of the Year titles

Not every aspiring model/actor has the luxury of living in Los Angeles or one of the world’s fashion capitols, but this doesn’t mean they should give up on their dreams. Just look at Cindy Crawford. She hailed from DeKalb, Ill., and she did all right for herself.

Two local youths, Houma teen Mary Alice Risener and Cut Off native Sebastian Vegas, may one day join Crawford’s ranks.

Vandebilt Catholic sophomore Mary Alice Risener, daughter of Dr. Rick and Nicole Risener, received four trophies and was named Model of the Year earlier this month at the iPOP! Convention in Los Angeles, Calif.

According to www.iPOPcon-vention.com, “iPOP! brings trained performers and models together to perform in front of the leading choreographers and show producers in the industry, and develop networking skills that will benefit them in the future.”

Mary’s journey began four months ago, when the 15-year-old attended an open casting call.

“It’s not something she just thought of. It’s something she’s been wanting for a long time,” explained the adolescent’s mother, Nicole. “I finally said, ‘You know what? Let’s give it a shot. Let’s go see what it’s about.’”

Ron Patterson, the owner of John Robert Powers, a national modeling, acting and performance school, attended the casting call and scouted Mary out. Originally interested in acting, they encouraged her to also consider modeling. She started to attend classes at JRP-New Orleans on weeknights and weekends.

“I was apprehensive at first, but it is for real,” Nicole said. “Children all the time have dreams but you don’t know how to even begin. How you achieve your goal is by finding somebody that knows somebody.

“The John Robert Powers school, that’s what they do. They help you achieve your next level,” she continued. “They train you for whatever you want and then they help you find a connection. They know people who know people n that’s their job.”

Twice a year the school chooses its best students to compete in the iPOP! bi-annual convention. Mary proved to be a wise choice, according to Ashley Wilkinson, JRP-New Orleans’ Academy director, as the local teen received 26 callbacks from top talent and modeling agencies from New York to Japan, and a number of notable awards.

“Mary received the award of Model of the Year. She competed against over 75 models in her age bracket,” Wilkinson said. “Other awards Mary received are third place for Best Head Shot, Top 10 for Best Smile, Top 10 for TV Beauty Commercial, Top 10 for Runway, Winner of Fashion Print and second for Swimwear.”

“I was very … I don’t know. I don’t know how to explain it,” said Mary about her awards show experience that marked the end of the weeklong convention. “I cried because I was happy and sad at the same time, because I was so grateful for the awards but I was going to miss my friends.

“It was just a very emotional night for everyone,” she added. “I had a blast though. It was a truly amazing experience.”

The 5-foot, 7-inch teen wishes to get started in modeling and then eventually transition into acting as well, according to Nicole.

Another local student who also received Model of the Year in his bracket is eight-year-old Sebastian Vegas from Cut Off. He too wishes to pursue a career in acting.

The son of Brian and Leslie Vegas received several additional awards including, Top 10 for Actor of the Year, second for Monologue competition, Top 10 for Scene competition, first for Swimwear, Winner of Fashion Print, Top 10 for Runway and Top 10 for TV Beauty Commercial.

Sebastian also received a total of 32 callbacks from agencies in Los Angeles and New York.

“There were so many kids there, I just wanted him to win one award,” said his mother. “Well, he was nominated for nine awards … I was blown away. It was just unbelievable.”

Sebastian’s trip almost didn’t happen when just three days prior to his departure for Los Angeles, his grandmother passed away. According to Leslie, her son was hesitant about going.

“We told him, ‘Just do it for your grandmother because she wanted you to do this. She was so proud of you,’” Leslie said. “So he did it for his grandma and he did great.”

“This kid will be a star … it’s only a matter of time,” said Wilkinson of the outgoing boy. “Both Sebastian and Mary have very unique qualities that we look for in all of the talent we work with. Some kids just naturally have ‘it’ and just need to be directed … these are those types of kids.”

According to the director, both aspiring stars have an important trip coming up in the near future.

“Sebastian and Mary will be traveling to Los Angeles very soon for meetings in the offices of some of the biggest agencies in the business,” she explained.

Pictured are Vandebilt Catholic sophomore Mary Alice Risener (left) and Cut Off native, 8-year-old Sebastian Vegas. Both aspiring models were named Model of the Year at the iPOP! Convention in Los Angeles. COURTESY PHOTOS