One week you might find Pranika swimming in a pool. The next week, she can be found walking the runway at New York Fashion Week. Multitasking is a habitual thing for versatile model and LTHS Varsity Swimmer, Pranika Duggal. Pranika started her modeling career early and has continued to thrive in the industry while balancing her modeling with school and other hobbies.

Modeling is as much of a hobby as it is a job for Duggal. For her, it’s about the experience more than anything else.

“I started a long time ago in third grade when I did my first pageant. I continued doing it in middle school, and freshman year is when I started doing it seriously. I’ve also been swimming for a long time since fourth or fifth grade. it’s important to have a lot of passion for your interests I also do dance and stuff,” Duggal said.

New York Fashion Week is an exclusive event that only reporters, models, designers, and other fashion industry professionals are invited to.

“Modeling was always something important to me, which is an avid part of the NYC Fashion Week, and my mom suggested it to me. It’s an opportunity that you seek out yourself since I already model with a lot of local brands I had a lot of contacts with people. Honestly, I plan to continue,” Duggal said.

For most individuals, New York Fashion Week is an honorable experience, and a great opportunity to showcase their talent. Pranika is no exception.

“It was a great glimpse into the modeling world and it was insightful to see what they pick out for you, and the kind of makeup you get to do. Walking the ramp was surreal,” Duggal said.

Modeling can be hard to manage when it comes to balancing it with school and other extracurricular activities.

“I think managing time is very subjective just having priorities and coming home and realizing what’s important and realizing that without a break ur not able to perform everything on time. keeping school a priority,” Duggal said.

Through balancing modeling, school, and other activities Duggal has learned how to manage a busy schedule and find ways to budget her time.

“There’s barely any weekends, so time really flies by but there are many ways to work around the problems and find ways to manage your time. It works different for everybody but for me, reminders and notes are great when you have a lot on our plate,” Duggal said.

Staying motivated can be difficult with such a hectic life style that allows for very little free time, but Duggal gets motivation from her passions themselves.

“I feel like I’m someone who always needs something to do, and I very much enjoy building up my passions with the time that I have and making my own place in the world,” Duggal said.

Though Pranika is thriving in the modeling industry, she does want to explore other interests.

“I don’t want to make it [modeling] a full-time career but I definitely want to do it on the side. I am looking into dermatology though as my ISM project,” Duggal said.

Duggal has learned some valuable life lessons from modeling, unique to her own experience.

“Balance is key in general to getting through high school. College admissions are very much grades and extracurriculars but you should show the colleges what you are beyond a transcript. Don’t be afraid of doing things that are different, and follow your passions, whether other people do them or not,” Duggal said.