2008 Woodie Awards
Charitability through modeling
Kristi Tousignant
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: News
Swimsuit modeling doesn't have to mean oiled-up bodies on the covers of men's magazines. If you're freshman letters and sciences major Brittany Britto or sophomore nutrition major Rachel Wood, it can help cure breast cancer.
Both are competing to have their photos included in the Campus Girls USA calendar, which displays college women in swimwear. But this is no flighty affair meant only to excite members of the male persuasion; all proceeds from the calendar go to breast cancer research.
"I wanted to represent the University of Maryland to show people I can be pretty on the outside, but I can also be a smart girl," Wood said. "When it comes to what it's for, I just wanted to give Maryland a voice for a good cause."
Since 2006, the organization has raised $12,649 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.The first step to apply to Campus Girls USA was sending in a head shot, a full body shot and an essay explaining why the woman should represent her university to the organization. A group is chosen out of the applicant pool to take trial pictures and, based on the shoot, they are told whether they make it to the next round.
Finalists have their photos put up online at www.campusgirlsusa.com along with a biography section and a brief video. Viewers can assign letter grades to the girls in the categories of "beauty," "brains" and "personality." The three highest-rated girls are included in the calendar; the photographers choose the rest of the women, Britto said.
The three winners are flown to either the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands or Turks and Caicos for a five-day photo shoot. They then receive copies of the $15 calendars to sell, with all proceeds going toward breast cancer research.
Both girls found out about the competition through Facebook, and though they were unsure at first, decided the organization was legitimate.
But now that the girls have made it to the website, it's not getting any easier. The rating scale can be tough, Britto said, and she knows from firsthand experience - she fell from an A- to a B+ in one day.
Both are competing to have their photos included in the Campus Girls USA calendar, which displays college women in swimwear. But this is no flighty affair meant only to excite members of the male persuasion; all proceeds from the calendar go to breast cancer research.
"I wanted to represent the University of Maryland to show people I can be pretty on the outside, but I can also be a smart girl," Wood said. "When it comes to what it's for, I just wanted to give Maryland a voice for a good cause."
Since 2006, the organization has raised $12,649 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.The first step to apply to Campus Girls USA was sending in a head shot, a full body shot and an essay explaining why the woman should represent her university to the organization. A group is chosen out of the applicant pool to take trial pictures and, based on the shoot, they are told whether they make it to the next round.
Finalists have their photos put up online at www.campusgirlsusa.com along with a biography section and a brief video. Viewers can assign letter grades to the girls in the categories of "beauty," "brains" and "personality." The three highest-rated girls are included in the calendar; the photographers choose the rest of the women, Britto said.
The three winners are flown to either the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands or Turks and Caicos for a five-day photo shoot. They then receive copies of the $15 calendars to sell, with all proceeds going toward breast cancer research.
Both girls found out about the competition through Facebook, and though they were unsure at first, decided the organization was legitimate.
But now that the girls have made it to the website, it's not getting any easier. The rating scale can be tough, Britto said, and she knows from firsthand experience - she fell from an A- to a B+ in one day.
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