Questions For. . . America’s Next Top Model Contestant Mila

We here at Boston Daily love America’s Next Top Model, so we jumped at the chance to talk to Mila, the Walpole native and Boston University graduate who was the eliminated from the competition last week. We asked her about the experience, her favorite Boston shopping haunts, and if she’s taking any flack for laughing at cancer.

Whose idea was it for you to audition? Did your friends tell you to try out, or did you send in a tape?
I met one of the casting associates while I was out, so I got on the show through that.

Why do you think there were so many Boston girls on the show this season?
You know what’s so funny? The group I was with when we met with the casting director had three girls from Boston who got on the show. Victoria is from New Haven, but she auditioned in Boston.

Did the Boston girls have an attitude like some of Boston’s male reality TV stars?
No, they were great. Sarah was a fellow Boston University student. I was so surprised they had two girls with very similar backgrounds.

What was your major?
I majored in finance.

Did you have a job before you started Top Model?
No, I literally graduated in May and went on the cruise, and moved into the house.

Do you plan to stick with modeling, or will you do something in finance?
I live in New York now for graduate school, so I hope to do some modeling work while I’m here.

Now that you’ve seen how the show edited your experience, do you think it was pretty true to how you experienced it?
Yeah, but was a little more dramatized than how I experienced it.

Have you had any offers for work now that you’ve appeared on the show?
No, I have not.

Where did you shop when you lived in Boston?
Saks in Copley Mall is my favorite store by far. I love Intermix on Newbury Street, and I Boutique. They have good sunglasses and some cool sweatshirts.

During the episode, Tyra announced this season of Top Model will be a non-smoking season. Were there a lot of girls who smoked?
I don’t smoke, and not many girls smoked this cycle. They said the last cycle had about seven or eight girls who smoked, but this cycle only two or three girls smoked.

What was the hardest thing about being on the show?
It was the waiting. It’s nerve-wracking because you never know what’s going to happen next, you’re always surprised. You feel anxious, and so does everyone around you, so the stress levels get very increased.

How did your friends react to your being on the show?
My friends were like, “I can’t believe you went on a reality show! That was the last thing you would ever do.” I’m a very private person in real life.

Did you think modeling was difficult?
I had a little bit of experience with an agency in Boston, so I felt it was harder on the show because you don’t get the attention. On the show, there are so many girls and they have to do it so quickly that it’s more stressful and rushed.

Tyra has a reputation with fans for loving the girls who open up and cry on Top Model. Do you think your positive personality hurt your chances?
I have no idea. She made her choice.

She’s also gotten a lot of flack from the media for gaining weight after she stopped modeling. How does she look in person?
That’s what everybody asks me. She looks great. Her hair looks really good too.

How long does a photo shoot for the show take?
When they take your picture, it’s very short. But on the smoking shoot, the makeup took forever. The makeup artists were so unbelievably talented, so that took the longest. From hair and makeup to the last girl. . . I barely remember. It was many, many, many hours.

Was it difficult to be the first person eliminated?
I think I’m okay with it. At this point, I’m kind of glad I was the first person eliminated. It would have broken so many girls’ hearts at that house, so if I made their lives easier that’s great.

What did you learn from being on the show?
Just watching myself on television taught me a lot about myself. For example, I think I speak a little too quickly as I’m doing right now, so I’m working on that. It’s little things you’d never notice with your own eyes. It’s very enlightening.

Is Mr. Jay as orange in person as he looks on TV?
You know, he’s so cute in person.

Is Nigel so cute in person?
He is very cute. Everyone likes him.

Have people complained about your laughing during the photo shoot? [During the shoot, Mila portrayed a cancer patient who lost her hair from chemotherapy treatments and got a case of the giggles.]
No one has come up to me. I’m sure people have written about it, but I haven’t read it.

How was your overall experience?
It was a good experience because it was so interesting. It was very cool. I’m glad I did it.

Photo from the CW.