Student Success Stories
Chinyere Sam
Chinyere Sam, originally from Guyana, was living in Barbados, working for Microsoft in technical support and professionally modeling when she realized she wanted a change – one that brought her across the seas and onto the campus of Utah Valley University. At the age of 20, she made the decision to move to the United States to pursue her college studies, and hoped to continue modeling in the States as well until she was told she wasn’t tall enough for the runway. But that didn’t stop her from being involved in the modeling industry. Determined, Sam decided to start locally and began working with talent agencies in the area, helping to train their models.
In 2005, while still a senior at Utah Valley University, Sam was ready for more and founded her own talent agency Chinyere International. The agency’s first office opened in Provo with the focus of representing models and actors of ethnic backgrounds. Sam’s agency now represents 40 clients and its success led Sam to relocate her offices to Salt Lake City with plans to expand to New York by 2009.
"The best experiences are the connections we make," Sam said. "I have one model who just left to the international market to work – that’s amazing. We also have models walking the runway at New York Fashion Week."
Sam succeeded not only as a business owner, but also as a student at UVU. Sam chose to attend UVU to continue her studies in information technology since she was previously working as a computer operator and wanted to expand her skills.
At UVU, she was very involved in different activities on campus. She was an academic coordinator on the UVU International Student Council and vice president of social life for the UVU Black Student Union. She also ran the 100, 200 and 400 meter events on the UVU track and field team.
Now that she’s graduated, she still continues to be involved in her surroundings. Sam was a judge on UPN Television’s “America’s Next Top Model” and served on the advisory board of the Ssejinja Children’s Foundation. She also volunteers at Lutheran Social Services where she distributes food to refugees from Africa
In the future, Sam hopes to have more Chinyere International agencies in the U.S. and international market.
Sam encourages those who are interested in modeling or acting to visit her Web site at www.chinyereinternational.com.