“One of the biggest challenges is getting the job done without compromising myself,� Janina says
[Our Beauty Of The Day]
Where She’s From: Janina Jenkins was born in Karlsruhe, Germany.
“My father met my mother while in the military, but basically I grew up in my father’s hometown, McClellanville, South Carolina,” she tells The Black Star News.
“This is a town with the only traffic light being a single caution light, and it’s not uncommon to find a cow roaming free in the backyard,” she laughs. “My parents have taught me, by their actions in raising nine children that you can get through anything with faith, patience and persistence.”
Where She’s At: Janina graduated with a BA in advertising from the University of South Carolina. “I can’t say I had always dreamed of becoming a model, because even though I was skinny enough, I didn’t want to be and was always trying to gain weight,” she explains.
But after her graduation, she was working a dead end job and while browsing the Internet she came across a photographer looking to build his portfolio and the rest, as they say, is history. She’s been on several shoots, runways and promotional modeling.
“I see my career going in a positive direction,” she adds. “I think I’ll end up in the urban market but I’ll bring a different flavor to the game just because I have a very creative mind.” Janina wants magazine spots and eventually to get into the movie industry. She also wants to launch her own marketing and promotion company after gaining more experience.
“One of the biggest challenges is getting the job done without compromising myself,” Janina says, when asked how she deals with obstacles in the industry. “There are so many women in this game who sleep with the cameraman just to show their ass for five seconds in a video on BET. It’s hard for those of us who want to keep it clean to move up. But I stand my ground because I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror.”
Some of the shows Janina has been on include promotions for the Hip Hop group Heaven-n-Hell; the group, won the award for Best Hip Hop Artist 2008 at the Charlotte Music Awards.
So how does this young model prepare to step out?
“I don’t do a particular brand of clothes; it just has to be cute. But I can’t live without Carmex. I’m sure they’re making a fortune off of my lips’ addiction,” she says.
Janina’s Words Of Wisdom: “Nothing will happen if you don’t try. In this industry, you gotta be able to take criticism and rejection or don’t even bother.”
Janina’s Secrets Of Success: “A positive attitude; have fun, don’t be easily persuaded.”
Janina’s Favorite Three Movies: “The Negotiator, Along Came A Spider, and A Time To Kill.”
Janina’s Favorite Three Books: “The Bible, The Outsiders, To Kill A Mockingbird.”
Leaders That Have Most Inspired Janina: “Hillary Clinton, Alicia Keyes.”
The First Three Things Janina Would Do As President: “Stop the war, lower college tuition, reform Medicare.”
Janina’s Favorite Car: “The old Jaguars—sexy.”
Janina’s Five Favorite Entertainers And Their Songs: “Dem Damn Twin$; Alicia Keyes; Mary J. Blige; and Keshia Cole.”
Janina’s Favorite Five Websites: “Model Mayhem, ModelCoast, MySpace, Google, Yahoo.”
For more on Janina please visit www.myspace.com/janinasc
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