Rising to the top

The hallways fill with laughter, students rush through crowds to get to class, and others stand around while they wait on their friends. Whatever the case, for junior Jalen Curry, the hallways are the runway. They are where he walks tall with his head straight, chin up and every little thing about him seems like perfection.

“I would describe myself as very extroverted and very out there…just like a people person,” Curry said. “I think I’ve always been into clothing, but I think seeing all these fashion designers [and] seeing celebrities like Kim Kardashian wearing what she wears is immersing. [The idea that] I could design that and sort of emulate that through my own stuff is really what inspired me.”

As an aspiring model and fashion designer, he describes how his goals might seem silly to others, however there is clear determination in his eyes as he speaks.

“Even though this is really unrealistic, I’m planning to go to New York over Spring Break,” Curry said. “A lot of the most famous supermodels have been discovered randomly like at an airport or restaurant. So that’s kind of what I want to do.”

There are obvious traits Curry possesses which prove him capable of reaching his goals. Killough art teacher Eric Champion got to know Curry during the two years that he hung out in his classroom before school, during block lunch and after school. He got to know him better during the candid times than he would during a normal class time.

“Dramatic and fabulous [is how I would describe Curry],” Champion said. “He has a great sense of humor and sense of self. And he always looks cool. He taught me a lot of things. He does the hard things to do the right thing. He is a survivor and stronger than you would guess by first looks.”

As looks can be deceiving, many don’t know where this passion stems from. Curry had to find something to distract him from himself.

“I had anorexia and bulimia and I was dealing with that for a really really long time,” Curry said. “It kind of escalated last year to the point where last summer I was admitted into a recovery program. It was kind of like a hospital and rehab all in one. I was in that for three or four months and I missed the first nine weeks of school. That’s why I’m so interested in fashion and modeling. I needed to bring my attention to other stuff. I needed to find an interest that was outside my body image, so stuff that I wasn’t hyperfocused on. That’s why I strive to achieve my goals because I almost wasn’t able to achieve them.”

The pain that he has had to endure has just been part of the journey.

“He was getting better from a long dark time,” Champion said. “It was fun to see him fight to be the person he will be. It takes a lot of courage and grit to do what he did. I learned a lot from watching him do hard things every day.”

Those close to Curry know the recovery process hasn’t been easy. It all started in eighth grade and got progressively worse into freshman year. Luckily, they were able to bring attention to the issue and seek help.

“We all became close [to Mr. Champion] really fast,” Adrianna Cruz said. “When we became close, it became apparent to Champion what was going on with Jalen. That summer Champion had emailed Jalen’s parents and was like ‘Hey this is what’s going on and I don’t want to see anything bad happen to him,’ and that’s when they put him in the hospital. It was relieving to get that because you don’t want to see anyone go down a path like that.”

After having to cope with strict diets and counseling there has been a great improvement in Curry. Close friend Gioia Schwalm has seen him become more comfortable with accepting who he is physically and emotionally.

“He’s become much more confident,” Schwalm said. “He’s been going to counseling and wasn’t at school for a long time but he’s really learned to be much happier with himself which is really great to see. I admire how open he is with all of it. Like he’s not ashamed of it all; I mean, he shouldn’t be.”

As junior year progresses Curry continues to develop his passion for fashion. He takes on classes which help him continue improving his skills as well as finding connections to his dream school, The Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing.

“It’s in California, [and] they have a bunch of different locations,” Curry said. “Since fashion design club is affiliated with them, they give a lot of good scholarships for being in fashion club. That’s what I’m really involved in right now trying to achieve my goal of that and get recognized.”

Curry recently showcased his first fashion pieces at the thrift store fashion show in December.

“I think something cool about him is that he had this idea and he really stuck to it,” Cruz said. “He knew what he wanted and he had this image in his head and he was able to capture that with his work. Watching the inspiration board that he did and then his final product it mirrored what he wanted.”

As a go-getter, Curry will go after what he wants no matter what. According to Schwalm, staying true to himself is what he will do in years to come because he really has a firm grasp of who he is.

“He could be in fashion or design,” Champion said. “But whatever he chooses, he will be at the cutting edge of it. He has too much style to be on the B-list. He will work with the best and do the best stuff.”