Rising Stars: Meet Aleksandra Karbonara

Today we’d like to introduce you to Aleksandra Karbonara.

Hi Aleksandra, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Firstly, thank you for inviting me to be a part of such an inspirational movement in the young culture. I’ve read a few of amazing stories on your website and it made me believe that mine can also positively influence more people toward the action.

Hi, my name is Aleksandra Karbonara and I’ve been working as a Commercial model in NYC for five years now. I am currently signed with STATE. My story started back in 2017 when I graduated from high school in Kazakhstan and, unfortunately, couldn’t find my place in there in order to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Business.

Later, same year my family takes a spontaneous decision to move to NYC and I start going to The Koppelman School of Business to finally pursue the career. The first two years were mentally intense due to the language barrier (I had a British English + my native is Russian) and significant differences in mentality.

I believe that Modeling came into my life more like a blessing rather than a conscious choice. In order to distract myself from sad thoughts during freshman/sophomore years, I started posting creative content on Instagram with makeup looks/fun music covers. This partially became my hobby and gave an outlet to connect with the strangers on a different level. Then one day I was discovered by a local photographer who invited me for a test shoot. I agreed and it was my first step to discover a new me. That’s where a Freelance modeling started and so on…

What I wanna especially highlight is that this industry helped me to overcome the majority of character barriers I used to have and understand faster how the American culture is built. It grew me and gave all the opportunities I could only dream of as a kid.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I’m sure it’s not the secret that Modeling has an extremely high rate of competition. So staying on track in terms of social media creativeness and expansion of your network will help you a lot to stand out. Many solid brands can discover you through social, so I’d recommend taking it seriously.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Some names I worked for:
Publishings: Bazaar, GQ Mag, Aeroflot
Television: ABC, Tamron Hall Show
Brands: Sephora, Macy’s, Loreal, Covergirl, NBA, KISS Cosmetics, Compass NYC, Dr. Jart and more.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleksandrakarbonara/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc2-_xqOEwC8404SVDX5oag

Image Credits
@aleksandrakarbonara