The latest models graduate from Mark Morris at New York Fashion Week | cafeteria

The 2022 Mark Morris graduate walked her first runway shows on Saturday and Wednesday before flying to Europe to hopefully model at Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks.

Snyder, a varsity basketball, football and track athlete, had planned to attend Willamette University in Salem and compete on the track team immediately after graduation.

Although Snyder said she didn’t grow up wanting to be a model, when the option to pursue it during one of the fashion industry’s busiest times of the year, she decided to postpone her first term of college.

“I just really love that school and fell in love with the coaches and the environment. It just seemed like the safe option and the good option,” she said. “Modeling is not a safe option, but it just seemed like an opportunity that you can’t pass up, that not many people get to have.”

Snyder plans to start at Willamette University in January, studying political science, environmental science or law.

In early 2020, Portland-based Muse Model Management reached out to Snyder on Instagram and invited him to an open call, where the agency meets new faces and offers contracts to those it likes.

Snyder signed with the agency, which told her they were interested in her becoming an international model, she said. This meant she wouldn’t have many local gigs and had to wait until she turned 18. The pandemic also put modeling in the spotlight for about two years, Snyder said.

This year, Snyder signed with Next Model Management in New York and flew across the country in August to prepare for fashion week.

“It was always in the back of my mind that it could happen, but it was a huge stretch,” she said.

Fashion Week takes place twice a year when designers and brands showcase their latest collections at runway shows in New York, London, Milan and Paris.

To walk in runway shows, models like Snyder attend castings in hopes of a phone call and a spot on the show. Casting directors often represent multiple brands, which reduces the number of castings to attend, but makes them more important, Snyder said.

On Saturday, Snyder walked in her first Fashion Week runway show for Marni, an Italian luxury fashion brand.

“It was a lot of fun, an experience I’ve never had before,” she said. “Being on the track is something you can’t compare with anything else. It’s a crazy feeling.”

Snyder was set to walk in American fashion designer Tom Ford’s show on Wednesday night before heading to Milan.

While she has traveled to Canada and Mexico, this will be the first time Snyder has been to Europe.

“(My mom) tells me that even though I’m paying a lot for it, I just make the best of being young and having the opportunity to travel and see the world,” Snyder said. “Even if modeling doesn’t work out, at least I get to go to Italy and travel a bit before college.”

Heather Snyder said it’s surreal to see her daughter on the show and hear about her meeting “bigwigs in the industry.”

“We are so glad we supported Erica in making this risky move in her future because she is having such a wonderful experience,” Snyder wrote in an email. “We are so proud of her, not only for her modeling success, but for her incredible maturity in learning her way around New York (and soon Milan) and truly owning her success.”

Over the past month, Erica Snyder said she has learned a lot about the fashion industry and the daily exposure has increased her interest in it.

“It’s a lot more open to different styles and looks than I thought it would be,” she said. “Everybody has their own look that they have going for (them) or a walk that makes them unique. The fact that they’re looking for things that make you stand out is something I didn’t think I’d see.”