By Nathan Hardin, salisburypost.com ;
The modeling world moves fast. So fast that 22-year-old Jacquelyn "Jacque" Thompson never imagined she would compete in the Miss Hawaiian Tropics 26th Annual U.S. Finals competition just one year after entering her first competition. ;
And Jacque, a native of Salisbury and current student at Catawba College, is still striving for more. ;
"I would love to have a future in modeling," Thompson said. ;
Before transferring to Catawba from East Carolina University, Jacque entered and won her first competition, naming her "Miss Emerald of the City 2008." ;
Jacque's road to modeling began after her roommate in college coerced her into becoming involved in G-Vegas Magazine, which is an entertainment magazine based out of Greenville. ;
G-Vegas Magazine, which specializes in pictures of students around the Greenville area, hosts the Emerald of the City competition. This win led Jacque to submit photos and be accepted as a Hawaiian Tropics spokesmodel. ;
Jacque said her transition into modeling was spurred by a love of theater arts. ;
"I've always been interested in theater arts," Jacque said. "I originally went to ECU to major in performing arts and professional acting." ;
Having switched to sports communications and broadcasting, Jacque is also interning with the Kannapolis Intimidators and learning more about marketing and promotions. ;
"It's such a great thing for her," said Pamela Thompson, Jacque's mother and professor of business at Catawba. "It's really opened a lot of doors for her." ;
One door that's opened is a new sponsorship by Ed Hardy/Christian Audigier Swimwear. ;
"They contacted me right before the U.S. Finals in Mississippi, because it was being televised," Jacque said. "Every competition I meet someone who gives me another opportunity." ;
As Jacque waits for her 2010 Ed Hardy/Christian Audigier swimwear line to arrive, she still has a lot on her plate this fall season. ;
"I'm going to Colorado Springs, Colo., Aug. 7 to 9," Jacque said. "They aren't stateEvents, just regionals, and there can be between 30 and 40 girls." ;
Jacque won't just be vying for the $6,000 in prize money at the Colorado Springs competition. She'll also be doing promotions for the soldiers at Camp Lejeune and Fort Bragg. ;
As part of her arrangement with the Hawaiian Tropics promotions, Jacque is scheduled to do a tandem jump at Fort Bragg. A tandem jump is sky diving with an instructor attached to the jumper for support. ;
"I'm terrified of heights," Jacque admitted. "I'm extremely scared of doing the tandem jump." ;
Throughout her journey into modeling, Jacque maintains that growing up in Salisbury has helped her in competitions. ;
"Growing up with the pretty girls of Salisbury and how everyone here's so nice, has really helped me, confidence wise," Jacque said. ;
Jacque recently returned from a competition in Snoqualmie, Wash., where she was a finalist.
Source: SalisburyPost.com
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