"My Plan Was To Better Myself" – An Interview with America's Next Top Model 11's Hannah

I’m not going to sit here and lie, and act like I was the biggest Hannah fan. I wasn’t at all. In fact, I think her makeover was one of the worst in Top Model history. That being said, she did become more bearable, and she was actually very nice to talk to, although I would have enjoyed her not trying to dodge every question I asked. Read on to see what I mean!

RealityNewsOnline: Hey, Hannah! Thanks for taking time out of your schedule to talk with me today. Had you watched previous seasons of the show, and what factored into your decision to apply?

Hannah: I had watched a few seasons with friends, and they had told me about their plans to apply. I was going to school in California, and I heard that there were auditions in LA, so we all decided to go. It was pretty fun, but from there, they had chosen me!

RNO: To cut straight to the chase, since I’m curious to hear what you have to say – what do you think about the way you were portrayed?

Hannah: Gosh. I guess you have to realize that they are trying to put you into a role. I wasn’t exactly shown or viewed as the complete person that I am. You never saw most of who any of the girls really were on TV. Isis was so funny, and she had such a huge personality, but you never saw any of that on TV. As for me, I mean, I guess it’s the same thing.

RNO: At any point, did you ever feel like the girls were going out of their way to make you the enemy?

Hannah: I don’t remember the conflicts being as large as they were shown on TV. I know that I have a thing where I take things too hard. They just make it larger for the drama. I guess it comes with being on a reality TV show, but I wouldn’t say they went out of their way.

RNO: On comments that you made to the other girls, do you think it was fair for them to come at you with comments of racism and no sympathy?

Hannah: The girls approached me with their questions. I remember me telling them about me line dancing, and just casually throwing out that I was just a typical “white girl,” but it wasn’t meant to be taken out of context. I am the first to admit that the comments that I made were a little inappropriate and probably weren’t what I thought I should have been saying. I’m very introverted, so living in the house was rough.

RNO: What about the way you were portrayed with Isis in the pool? Was it blown up into something it really wasn’t? For some reason, I have a feeling it was.

Hannah: I feel really bad about that because I really like Isis. I didn’t realize that it was going to be shown so negatively, and that wasn’t my intention. I did meet with Isis about the whole thing and we cleared it all up. She understood what I was saying, and where I was coming from, and that’s what I really liked about her. Isis knew when people were uncomfortable, and she really went out of her way to help people understand who she was, and I loved that.

RNO: On to the competition – what was your plan for sticking out from the rest of the girls once you knew you were in the house?

Hannah: I didn’t really have a plan. I just wanted to better myself. I never even considered myself to be a model or get into the industry, so for me, the whole thing really was just a learning experience, so the best I could do was just go out there and give it all I had!

RNO: You stated yourself that you knew runway would be an important part when trying to be a top model, so why did you wait until the night before the challenge to actually ask for tips?

Hannah: I worked on my runway the whole time! Of course, it just wasn’t shown. To be honest with you though, I pretty much just sucked at it. That’s really all I can say!

RNO: Once you knew that the challenge was going to cause the elimination of someone, did you have a good idea then and there that you had a pretty good chance of leaving?

Hannah: Have you watched the episode?! Ha! Yeah, I pretty much knew that I was dead at that point. There was no doubt in my mind that I was probably going home at that point.

RNO: In all honesty, watching the photo shoot from last night that you did not get to participate in, how do you think you would have done?

Hannah: I can’t really say. I mean, all the girls did great for that photo shoot, so it would have been some pretty tough competition!

RNO: It seemed like you came across as very innocent and naïve to many things on the show, and you always kind of brought it back to Alaska. Was being shy and naïve part of being from Alaska, or was it just you as a person?

Hannah: Oh my God, they threw out the fact that I am from Alaska at least 15 times per episode. By the last episode I was like “I got it, they know I’m from Alaska!” I really think that my personality has nothing to do with me being from Alaska. There are tons of people from there that are well-rounded people and not so innocent. I’m just young and naïve, and that’s that. It was a new experience for me.

RNO: We know you were pretty blown back from your makeover, so did you decide to stick with the look, or did you switch to something different since you were eliminated from the show?

Hannah: I did decide to stick with the look, even though I think I’m now looking like a 12-year-old. I like that I look younger now, even though people think I look younger than I did before. But I do like the look, so I decided to stick with it.

RNO: Have you been shocked at all by any comments or actions you have seen on the show that you didn’t know were being said or going on?

Hannah: I can’t say I’m shocked because I know the editing is a bit crazy. I know going into everything that they knew Hannah would be this person that they want me to be, and they probably did the same for everyone. There are things that people said, but you never know what they were in context to, so I’m not going to hold that against anyone.

RNO: What are your plans from here? Do you intend on still trying to make it in the modeling biz?

Hannah: I’m so excited because being on the show really did open some doors for me. For now, I’m going to finish school, but I can’t wait to give modeling a try in the future.

RNO: What’s the number one thing you are walking away from in the competition, and what kind of advice would you give to girls that want to apply for future seasons?

Hannah: I would just say go for it. Again, I never had any clue what would be in store for me, and I had no experience. If you had told me that me, Hannah, would be on ANTM I would have never believed you, so if it’s something you want to do, you really have to just go out and try!

RNO: Is there anything you would like to add or say to fans of the show?

Hannah: Keep me in the back of your mind, because I’m not done yet. I had a great time, and I’m really glad I had the chance to be on the show!

RNO: Thanks, Hannah!

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Phil Kural is an office manager at a dental office, and graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism. You can send feedback to him at pkural@gmail.com.

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