From the Paris runway to Charlotte, Alaya Holmes works the camera
Alaya Holmes knows how to work the camera, whether she is behind the scenes or modeling in front of it.
In high school, Holmes started creating content and taking photos at home in her room out of boredom during the pandemic. She used what she could find for lighting set-ups and subjects, but as she continued, she found that she enjoyed the creative process. Once she arrived at UNC Charlotte, a friend involved in modeling helped introduce Holmes to the industry and her interest and opportunities took off from there.
The Interdisciplinary Studies major with a Film Studies concentration and Theatre minor is graduating this May, and has built a portfolio of experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. Holmes was involved in six professional shows as a model within the span of a year and developed a network that opened the door to modeling during fashion week in New York, Paris and LA.
Holmes has been very involved in various modeling opportunities at Charlotte as well. She was in a photo spread for Student Niner Media’s Midas Magazine in fall 2023 and is an active member of Majestic Models student organization. She’s proud of what she was able to do to combine personal experiences with her classes to pursue her interests.
“I changed my major about five times, from social work to theatre to film as I figured out who I was and could get to where I truly want to be,” said Holmes.
In an image driven industry, she has dealt with a lot of rejection and a lot of comparison. “You have to be secure in yourself going into a field like this. I have met more good models than some of the stereotypes you think of, but comparison does exist and that competition is insane,” said Holmes.
“Especially in the big cities, going into the casting is very intimidating. What they’re looking for is more personality based and what makes you different, because everyone is attractive. My reputation and personality is what gets me things I’m doing for free, even without being represented by an agency, because I love it. I’m building my experience and portfolio, and paying for a lot of this on my own. I travel on my own, it’s often me and my flight app against the world.”
Her advice to other students is to not give up until you find your passion.
“Do it all, don’t be afraid to change your major, to change your mind–as many times as you need to– until you find your thing. Don’t feel pressured to conform to anything that you don’t want to do, no matter who is telling you that you should stick to a specific career path or a societal norm. Always follow your intuition and your gut when it comes to what you want to do for the rest of your life because you’re young and you might not really know yet. Take the time to figure it out. Never settle for less. Never feel like you’re not good enough or the career path you’re choosing is not ‘traditional.’ Do it anyway, because life is so short, college goes by fast, and the way that you set yourself up during these four years may honestly determine the rest of your life.”
— Alaya Holmes
“I will always remember the connections that I made at Charlotte. Although our film program was new, I still learned so much from being the guinea pig class of this interdisciplinary major and being a part of a group of people who want to do something out of the norm,” said Holmes.
Holmes had support for her journey from her family and faculty that encouraged her.
“My mom is a huge supporter of what I do and is my bestie. She has always believed in me and said ‘if you want to do that, we will figure out how to do it.’ Nothing I have attempted has been viewed as unrealistic,” said Holmes. “It’s an untraditional road but she supports me, and I love her for that.”
“Rodney Stringfellow and Sidney Beeman in the film studies department are by far the faculty that have made the biggest impact on my life at Charlotte. The amount of wisdom they share about the industry is really motivating for someone who wants to make it farther than Charlotte. They have always supported me and just given me so much advice,” said Holmes.
Going farther is her plan, as she will move to New York this summer. Holmes was accepted to New York University for graduate school and will be attending NYU’s Integrated Marketing Program this fall. Her goal is to work as a creative director in the entertainment industry or for fashion and beauty companies.
“I knew that being here was going to propel me to where I wanted to go. Charlotte is full of potential and opportunities and talent that shows you the beginning seeds of who you are as a person. It’s a perfect transition into adulthood,” said Holmes.