Age:18

Waist: 27

Bust: 32

Hips: 38

Weight: 129 lbs

Height: 5’7

Eye/hair color: brown to black

Tell us about yourself (where are you from, age, whatever you want to add)

My name is Hermela RussomI am Eritrean and I live in the bay area.

Tell us about your modeling experience. 

I do not have professional modeling experiences but I have always loved taking pictures with my phone and in the studios for my birthdays and any other occasions.

What is your biggest dream?

My biggest dream, well because I am an immigrant and very passionate teenager, I have a lot of big dreams that I want to achieve. One of my biggest dreams since childhood is to become a doctor and this passion grew in me as I started to grow up and wanting to achieve it even more than ever because I do really enjoy serving and helping people and from where I come from there are lots of people who really are losing their lives because of lack of medical employees due to political instability in Eritrea and it will always be my honor and blessing to help them but that is not all, as much as I love learning about the human body, I love modeling, dressing up, trying out new clothing styles, makeup, hairstyles is something that brings me happiness and being a black woman, I would love to represent the black community and inspire my fellow black women too.

What does it mean to be your own kind of beautiful?

Beautiful to me is literally kindness, caring, and honesty to me because your body is just a case for the heart. As the bible says in 1 Peter 3;4-6 “Your beauty should not come from outward adornments, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine, clothes. Rather, it should be that your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”

How would you describe your fashion style?

My fashion style varies every day because I love trying out new things. But something that I always put in mind when putting out my outfits is colors, the season, and most importantly comfort. I want to wear something that also shows some of who I am and my personality. Most of the time I stick with nude colors and add in some colors during summer and similarly I always go for sweats but wear skirts and dresses during spring and summer.

Who or what inspires you?

Something that inspires me is my future. This might sound a little strange but not knowing what the future holds for me always inspires me to work harder to be stronger emotionally, mentally, and physically because the unexpected can happen and in terms of fashion, my mom inspires of a lot because she has a really good taste in fashion and I am always learning from her. Another blessed person that always inspires me is an influencer called Maya Prosser. She is just 18 but she is a very hard-working, passionate, strong person with a very good sense of style that I always look up to. 

What is your advice to someone who is just getting started with modeling?

Being a beginner, I can not give a lot of advice on modeling but something that I know is to always love yourself enough and not compare yourself with another human being because there is no one like you and so on this modeling journey, be patient, work on yourself every day, be consistent and try to enjoy it.

Describe some obstacles you have overcome in your life and how that has changed or shaped you.

My journey as an immigrant is definitely the one obstacle that made me the person that I am today. I have encountered people from different cultures, backgrounds who were super different from mine which helped me in being open-minded.