Saturday, June 12, 2010

Sarah Meier:‘Modeling teaches valuable industry lessons’

Sarah Meier:‘Modeling teaches valuable industry lessons’
by ANA KRISTINE B. VALENZUELA, MOD MAY 2010


MODELS who want to extend their careers beyond the runways, billboards, television commercials, and print ads should take their cue from Sarah Meier. Although she still books modeling stints, Sarah has proven that there’s more to her than her looks. Back when being a music channel video jock was the to-die-for job, Sarah was one of the most popular VJs. And then she got married, and had a kid.
“In those less hectic times, out of the public eye, I was visualizing, conceptualizing, and actualizing my next ten-year plan,” she says.
Now back in the spotlight, she hosts The Dollhouse, a daily morning show from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on U92 FM with model Vicky Herrera. Although she’s proud of her work on radio, she is proudest when she’s being a wife and a mother. “Being a wife and mother are two of the most important, high-paying, rewarding, press-worthy job titles I will ever hold,” she says.


Radio Gaga. “People have been asking me why I decided to do radio after television, implying that it was some sort of a downgrade -- which makes me smile because shifting to radio was actually something I did to improve my hosting skills. As a VJ, you have distractions to help you get away with your job.You can smile, dress to impress, bounce around, and in the case of on-screen material, cut and ‘take two’ when you mess up or forget the information in your script. Radio is live. It's every day, and there’s always a responsibility to talk--in my case, for four hours--make sense, impart substance, and keep people entertained on a daily basis without sounding redundant or dated. I like to challenge. Radio deejay-ing is the boss of this next round that I'm going to enjoy conquering.”

Music’s on Her Radar. “As a daily morning rush hour show, The Dollhouse has a set list of songs that our programmer lines up for us. The order in which we play it on the show is up to us. Once in a while, we get away with highlighting some of our favorite tunes from past decades like on Throwback Thursdays, but generally we keep it current. We're such musically inclined jocks at U92 that you can tune in at any point and know that there is a real selector behind the booth and not just some robot.”

On-Air Mishaps. “Any given day, something can go wrong. I can forget to turn off somebody's microphone, or accidentally play a different song than I introduced. It's live, and that's the beauty of it. When I stop making mistakes, it means I'm ready to take on another challenge.”

Shifting Gears. “Shifting to the new studio and learning how to use the equipment came on the first day Vicky, my partner, and I moved to the morning shift, which means it was also the first time we had to wake up at 4 a.m. instead of come in for our 5 p.m. show, and the first time we had to be on air for four hours. Plus, we were the first two jocks on-air at the new station, so we felt like guinea pigs.”

Morning Person. “I think the thought of waking up at 4 a.m. was more daunting than actually doing it. I tried practising a week before, but we were still doing evening shift, and I just ended up exhausted. Now that I am a morning person, I feel like I maximize my day. I can be your alarm clock, instead of hitting the snooze button on mine.”

A Word on Modeling. “Modeling will teach you some of the most valuable lessons you may need to succeed in any industry--how to present yourself, the discipline of recognizing people's expectations and meeting them, being independent, personable, professional, flexible, and open minded provided you have your head screwed on straight. I've found that people who model for the wrong reasons like revenge, to prove something, or to nurse a self-esteem issue, end up with more problems than when they began. I think that's the long-term truth about modeling that nobody warns anybody about.”

The Only Job Title That Matters. “Being a wife and mother are two of the most important, high-paying, rewarding, press-worthy job titles I will ever hold, and investing quality time for family is essential in success, no matter what your job description is. But I am still both a businesswoman and a creative at heart, and so in those less hectic times, out of the public eye, I was visualizing, conceptualizing, and actualizing my next ten-year plan.”

A Healthy Daily Diet. “Eating is a soul-important quasi-luxury. The conversations and relationships formed over meals are wonderful; as is the love put into preparing them. As long as you have a healthy balance of proper eating and exercise, I've discovered that there is no more effective diet in the universe.”


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