By Hannah Newman
From the stables to horse shows to a camera screen to fashion week, criminal justice senior Dahlia Devivo has become the epitome of versatility after beginning her modeling career at 19 years old and keep her alive throughout her college career.
Devivo began horseback riding at age 12 and visited the stables weekly until he reached high school where he took track and basketball, pausing from horsemanship due to the immense expense involved.
After high school, Devivo knew she wanted to continue riding horses. After exploring his options for making it at Rider, he felt that the club’s sports teams were highly regarded and taken quite seriously for not being at Division I level. The comfortable environment and opportunity to compete were key to his Devivo got engaged to Rider.
“When I was looking at colleges, I saw that Rider had an equestrian team, and honestly, that’s what drew me to Rider. I really liked the acceptance aspect of the community and the team that I found here,” said Devivo.
In addition to joining the equestrian team, Devivo has taken on two leadership roles: President of Social Media and Treasurer.
“As a member of the competition, you have training requirements each week that you must meet in order to compete in upcoming events,” said equestrian team advisor Lisa Tindall. “Dahlia does a great job in both of her roles on the executive board and has shown her commitment to the team. I think Dahlia sets an excellent example and has done well with her time management skills.”
Devivo not only found her home in Rider, but was also able to continue her modeling career and even elevate it during her college years.
Since 2019, she has been working as a freelance model, connecting her own opportunities and finding her way in the fashion industry. She participated in Philadelphia Fashion Week in 2020; however, due to COVID-19, she went online. Although many models withdrew from this event after adjustments were made to better accommodate COVID-19, this experience was a breakthrough for Devivo as she received the recognition he needed to start his career on his behalf. .
“It is a very dangerous industry. It is very easy to be scammed. You really have to learn the warning signs of what is legitimate and what is not. I was taking my dad to everything he had to attend when I started modeling,” Devivo said.
Devivo then began modeling for clothing brands such as Lola Jay Designs and took advantage of the opportunities offered to her to model. She allowed the learning process of her independence to guide her in building a substantial portfolio while she learned the ins and outs of casting calls, professional photography and fashion.
“Once I started modeling, I realized that I really loved being involved with people who are really into fashion and the production and creativity behind it,” Devivo said.
Dahlia Device, senior criminal justice commander, poses for the camera. Photo courtesy of Dalia Devivo.
Despite a burgeoning career in fashion and growing love of horseback riding, Devivo is currently studying criminal justice, something that also piqued her interest at a young age. With a history of being curious about law and order, she decided to pursue this interest, giving herself the stability of something to fall back on as she continues her passion for fashion and modelling.
“In high school I didn’t really know who I was. I was into very different things. I loved fashion, but at the time I didn’t really know it was something you could go to school for. Although I really liked fashion, I have always been interested in law and order since I was little. Having criminal justice and an equestrian team at Rider allowed me to pursue my interests while continuing to model,” Devivo said.
Devivo has allowed his journey to contribute to building himself as a person. She continues to travel the fashion path, motivated to learn new things while rejecting the negativity that comes with working in this industry.
“I definitely look towards the fashion of the future and want to stay involved with it. I have used modeling as a gateway to the fashion industry and have been able to see all aspects of fashion, such as the design and production process, the photographers and the other models, which has been a great experience so far. Modeling has taught me about myself, as well as persistence. I think I’ve learned, if you really want to do something, you have to do it. [it]. It has brought me to a new level of independence,” Devivo said.
Source: news.google.com