IU senior living 'model' college career

His career takes him all over the world. He has lived in Paris, Hamburg, Milan, Tokyo and New York City. He has been to every continent except Antarctica. His face graces fashion magazine covers and advertisements, most recently in the new Guess advertisement campaign with Paris Hilton. But on most days he is just another college student. \n"What I do is exciting, but I've been doing it for so long," said 22-year-old Matthew Merrell. "It's just like a job."\nIt is not exactly the typical part-time job for a college student. Merrell, a senior telecommunications major at IU, is a model -- and, a successful one. For the past five years, he has built a career in the fashion industry, modeling for Abercrombie and Fitch, Target, Guess and more.\nMerrell grew up in Redondo, Calif., near Los Angeles. He got involved in entertainment early in life, starting out with commercials. He said he hated commercial work and decided to look into modeling, "starting small" with teen magazines such as YM.\nAfter visiting IU with a good friend, he decided to come here for his freshman year of college. He didn't model during his first year. And, he said after that freshman year he had transfer applications ready to go. It was a rough period in his life.\n"I wasn't out and I was dealing with a lot of issues," Merrell said. "But, I'm so happy I didn't go."\nMerrell said being gay in the fashion industry has both opened and closed doors. He said since being on the cover of Out magazine he has lost more conservative catalog clients, but typically it is not an issue in his career or in his personal life.\n"I'm just like anybody else," he said. "It doesn't change everything about me. It's just my sexuality."\nMerrell's friend and roommate Jordan Metzner, a senior majoring in entrepreneurship and telecommunications, said when they met freshman year before he had come out, he knew Merrell was gay. Metzner said he noticed Merrell did not like to talk about his personal life.\n"Our friendship was based on the fact that we were friends before anything else," the 21-year-old Metzner said. "We've become the closest of friends. I think that we compliment each other."\nMetzner said the separate lives they lead are a good balance for the roommates, who share an apartment in downtown Bloomington.\n"Sometimes he is flying across the world, and I'm just a regular college student," he said. "But we work out well together."\nSince he started modeling again his sophomore year, Merrell has learned to balance school and work. Both this semester and last, he has juggled his work with 18 credit hours. At the beginning of each semester, he lets his professors know about his job. Some jobs take him away from classes, but he said professors have always been very understanding, allowing him to make up work and submit assignments through e-mail and fax.\n"I could count on my two hands how many models have gotten an education," Merrell said. "Unfortunately, you can get caught up in this lifestyle. I don't want to be doing it until I'm 35."\nAlthough he is proud of what he does, Merrell said there is more to him than his modeling. It has offered many opportunities, which he is thankful for. He loves being able to travel for free, he said. But, there is a myth to modeling that he was disappointed to find out.\n"You never get free clothes," he said. "I was really excited about that coming into the industry." \nMerrell sees in the industry how easy it is to get caught up in the negative aspects. The parties, the excessive lifestyles and the "dehumanizing" that can occur on sets can all be destructive for models.\n"I can see what it does to people," he said. "I can recognize that, so I surround myself with good people. The best thing to do is live right now. At any moment, life can change. You just go with it and have a good time."\n-- Contact Staff Writer Megan Hubartt at mhubartt@indiana.edu.