Megan McLain of Wallowa is determined to make her profession as a model. Submitted photo

Seventeen-year-old Megan McLain stands out in a crowd. The 5’11”, slender Wallowa High School senior has been told for years that she should be a model. Now she is doing something about it.

For three weeks this past summer McLain was in Chicago getting her feet wet in the modeling industry. She had no paying jobs, but worked with other aspiring models practicing and learning techniques for runway walks, and met with agencies in addition to Brown Model Group (BMG) Models which is her contracted agency.

It all began at age 15 when Megan and her mother Kate McLain were in the Tri-Cities, Wash., and decided to attend an open call for prospective models. Primarily an interview, Megan was asked to go to Portland following the session to participate in a runway tryout in front of representatives from 50 modeling agencies. Her father, Gerry McLain, said that prospective models feel fortunate if they receive one call back. Megan received six, and, after some study, selected BMG Models as her modeling agency.

“I like performing and being in front of people,” says the young lady with a 3.85 GPA. She is a varsity performer on the WHS volleyball and basketball teams and an active participant on the school’s dance team.

A year elapsed between her Portland debut and her experience in Chicago, though she did travel to Phoenix, Ariz., shortly after Portland for photo shoots to help build up a portfolio needed to get into the trade. She did the same on a trip to Las Vegas, Nev., over spring break of her junior year.

Totally supportive of her dream, Megan’s parents are giving her plenty of space. In Chicago she lived with other prospective models, learned the transportation systems and basically lived the life of a small town girl in a big city. She says that she really liked the experience.

There is a limited future for models in Wallowa County, so Megan McLain is setting her sights on either Chicago or Los Angeles after graduation. She is also thinking of flying to Los Angeles this next spring break to test the waters there.

“She is determined to model,” says her father, a believer in the abilities of his youngest daughter.