Jennifer Tucker

When you think of modeling, which set of words comes to mind: materialism, objectification and anorexia? Or fun, friendship and self-confidence?
If you picked the first set, you might need to change your thinking because there is at least one model out there who has shifted her focus toward helping young women grow healthy and strong. Jennifer Tucker is a former runway model who gave up her professional ambitions so she could address a need she saw in the industry.
"Modeling is very hard on your self-esteem," said Jennifer, who began modeling at age 13 in Augusta, GA. "The industry still likes the very tall, very thin waif style, and it's sad because not everyone is built that way. But I don't know if that will ever change. The most important thing for girls to learn when they're young is how to stay healthy and take care of themselves."
Jennifer had done a lot of modeling in the Atlanta area and was on the verge of realizing the dream she had been working toward for more than six years: going to work with an agency in New York. But a month before her departure, when she was supposed to be packing and getting psyched, she suddenly decided that wasn't the direction she wanted to go with her life. Instead, she married her high school sweetheart-they're still together today-and at the tender age of 20 opened Tucker Agency, now a modeling and talent agency in Bluffton. Instead of focusing on pageantry and nurturing pipe dreams of being the next cover girl, Jennifer creates programs that build girls' self-esteem and help them shine during the awkward teen and preteen age.
"It's like putting your kids in dance or in a sport," said Jennifer. "It's a positive environment where they're going to make a lot of friends, have a lot of fun and build their self-confidence. Then they're going to take that with them forever, whether or not they continue to dance, play sports or model later in life."
Jennifer must be doing something right because she is still in contact with many of the girls who were her first clients back in Augusta; they have grown up, gotten married and had babies of their own, yet they still remember the fun they had with Jennifer. Now she's doing the same thing for young people in Hilton Head and Bluffton.
"I've watched these kids come in September and they were so shy," said Jennifer. "Now, three weeks before the end of the program, parents are calling and emailing me to tell me what a change they've seen in their child's self-confidence. It's so rewarding to help them pursue their dreams, just like people did for me."