By Grant Terwilliger
SUNY Plattsburgh’s modeling club, House of Divinity — also known as H.O.D. — helps students find community and a sense of confidence through modeling.
Sophomore secretary Isabella Patrocinio and Senior treasurer Jason Smith are members of the H.O.D. board. The club’s goal is to allow students to find a sense of community and belonging while also learning to love their appearance.
The organization recently put on their spring showcase titled Heavenly Garden which was themed around spring. The process of planning the events can be lengthy as they have to agree on a common theme and the logistics of the show.
“It was a lot of thinking and a lot of ideas being shown. So we were all really like, ‘Oh my God, what are we gonna wear? What are we gonna do with the decorations? What is the theme going to be?’ And when we came up with Heavenly Garden, it was perfect,” Patrocinio said.
Patrocinio has been a part of the club since freshman year and Smith has been a part of the club for one semester. H.O.D. was started about three to four years ago.
Smith is also the president of the club Kinks on campus, this has allowed for an increased collaboration between the two clubs. During their last show Kinks helped with hair styling. They have also collaborated in the past with the Black Student Union and African Unity.
Smith said that he feels the club allows students the opportunity to model as well as learn important life skills.
“I’m an inner city kid, so we didn’t really have many opportunities to model, but even simple things such as walking around with confidence, or just being comfortable speaking, or just being in your own skin. I’ve best taken these skills and applied them to some other clubs, and even my life as I try to get myself ready for life post grad,” Smith said.
In the future the club is looking forward to doing more photo shoots and bringing more student clothing designers into the spotlight and helping promote their brands. The club is also looking forward to branching out and spreading their message and their show to the local community.
H.O.D. is spreading body positivity and an inclusive space where students can express themselves through modeling and find a sense of peace.
“It’s really about just having people feel comfortable in their own skin. Literally, that’s our mission statement, “Patrocinio said. “We just want everybody to feel welcome and at peace when we’re all together like we say we are family and we treat each other like family.”
The club holds modeling auditions at the beginning of every semester and has meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The club also has a performance during the spring semester where they add additional practices for models.
“You can just come and join and learn. And that’s what I did. I learned, and I felt so confident after day three, I was really at peace,” Patrocinio said. “It’s honestly refreshing to help other people, because I was once like that too. I was very nervous about modeling. I didn’t know a thing about modeling.”
The club allows members to have a sense of community and belonging on campus, and it also helps people find comfort in themselves. The club collaborates with many different organizations on campus as well as individuals.
