By Hien Bui & Britney Tran
Impossibly bright lights shine a narrow arc across the catwalk. A hundred shadowed faces pause on a collective, expectant inhale. A nondescript tune with a rhythmic heartbeat pounds louder. Models backstage pulse with energy as they line up single file, heads high and limbs already locked into easy poise.
As the show begins in earnest, Jane Springer, who will one day teach mathematical subjects to scores of formative minds on a different coast, takes a breath and strides out to meet her exultant audience.
A native of Buffalo, New York, Springer was named after her aunt who, being a model, connected a high school freshman Springer to her friend’s modeling agency. Being already 5’10, Springer was accepted and signed a contract her sophomore year. She would quickly go from passing out balloons at her first modeling gig to featuring in commercials and walking runways.
Although she didn’t get to keep the clothes, Springer embarked on a modeling career that would leave her with irreplaceable experiences at an age where most people were still trying to learn algebra.
“The strongest memory I have of the [modeling] experience was probably winning a modeling contest,” Springer said. “My brother, who is not a crier, was so proud of me he actually shed a tear later that night. I’ll never forget that. My mother, who passed away in 2010, was also super supportive of my modeling and she was my biggest fan, so I have lots of fond memories of modeling because she was always there with me.”
However, modelling was not without its unique set of challenges.
Hailing from a family who loved to eat, Springer struggled with the pressure of managing her weight for the runway. Her teenage career’s lifestyle required discipline in her appearance through diet and working out, which inspired some feelings of struggling from a sideline while those around her lived without the same restrictions.
At times, her self confidence was also at odds with her fellow models. Insecurity isn’t out of place during one’s teenage years, but, in modelling, with appearance being the industry itself, it was easy to lapse into uncertainty and personal doubt.
“[Modeling was] pretty competitive,” Springer said. “Some of the people I modeled with were very nice, and others would brag about the jobs they got in front of you. I had to decide not to let the comments of others affect my self worth.”
While the life of a teenage model might evoke the dizzying glitz and glamour of teenage soaps, Springer is a firsthand testament to how hardworking one has to be to pull the balancing act off. When she wasn’t being a commanding presence on the runways, she was keeping up the demanding pace of her schoolwork and developing interests outside of modelling.
In a twist of fate, her modeling career actually led to the making of her final college decision, although her hard work was what made the path she wanted to take possible.
“When I was in high school, a modeling agency had a contest in Buffalo and I won the contest,” Springer recalled. “I won a trip to Chicago where I got to visit different photographers for a week. I decided to attend Northwestern University, near Chicago, so I could be near the modeling agency. However, I double majored in Computer Science and Engineering, so I ended up not doing much modeling in college because my studies kept me so busy!”
Pursuing a double major filled a lot of the time slots that back-to-back commercials and runway shows had once filled. The occasional modelling gig became the standard and then a rarity as Springer devoted more of her energy towards her demanding course load and stronger passion for STEM.
Although she would go on to model for a local hairdresser, getting free haircuts throughout her college years, and even make the cover of the “Girls of Northwestern” calendar, the curtain had already closed on Springer’s time as a model as her horizons expanded and she looked toward her education first before setting her sights on the west coast.
Today, she leads classrooms with the same authority she commandeered fashion show audiences with. Her enigmatic and magnanimous nature currently finds itself applied in teaching Fountain Valley High School students mathematical applications and inspiring the same love for the subject that had driven her to her college experience and eventual career in education. Through it all, she remains self-assured, inspiring confidence in others through example—a true role model.
While Springer decided against continuing her modelling career, she advises those looking into it to be cautious while, of course, trying to have fun with the experience that this unique position offers.
“Just make sure you have a good agency that will look out for you, stay humble, and don’t let circumstances or others influence how you feel about yourself.”
This article was originally published in the 2021 RED Magazine. Stop by room 306 to pick up a copy.
