Former Madera woman models for Macy’s

Ryan Beckman/For The Madera Tribune. Vanessa Beckman poses next to her print ad at the Macy’s at the Culver City Mall.

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Teaching fourth grade seems like an unlikely place to get a job as a fashion model but a former Madera woman did just that.

Vanessa Beckman (nee Johnson) appeared in both print and television commercials for retail giant Macy’s. The 29-year-old 2007 graduate of Madera High School played volleyball at Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson and at MHS. The last five years she has taught school while living in West Covina with her husband, Ryan, a graphic designer.

Using social media as part of her courses at Roynon Elementary School in La Verne, near West Covina, east of Los Angeles, Beckman utilizes an Instagram account to showcase projects with her students. She received an email on her Instagram account about being a model in a clothing ad. Believing it to be spam, she ignored the message and deleted the communication. She then got a similar note on her Facebook page and at her email at school.

The advertising agency selected her, and five other women for its “Macy’s Remarkable You,” fall fashion campaign. All six women were all non-models and appear in two nationally televised commercials, several print ads, and some online advertisements, Beckman said. Also featured in the ad campaign were NBA assistant coach Becky Hammon, public defender Tiffany Blacknell, aerospace engineer Mishaal Ashemimry, civil engineer Patricia Valoy and philharmonic conductor JoAnn Falletta.

“There were makeup, hair and wardrobe stylists,” she said.

While she enjoyed the experience, she said being a model is hard work and not something she would pursue.

The commercials featured an orchestral rendition of No Doubt’s “I’m Just a Girl” from Faletta Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

She received a paycheck for her work but does not think they want them to say how much they were paid. She also got to keep the Calvin Klein clothes she wore.