Written by Jada Dukes, Staff Writer

Valdosta State University is an institution known for its extraordinary students and their even more extraordinary talents. VSU is also home to some very notable alumni—Kip Moore, Nancy Grace, Pauley Perrette from CSI, and former NFL player, Jessie Tuggle, to name a few. With all of the amazing athletes, performers, and scholars that have attended VSU through the years, there are still so many talented students who deserve recognition, but may not get it.

One talented student, Jamila Chambers, a sophomore psychology major, is making her mark on VSU as the new director of ElementX Modeling Troupe. ElementX has been operating on campus for quite some time now, and they have been patiently waiting for the opportunity to really showcase their brand. Now that they have a brand new director along with new models, Element X is ready for their big debut once again.

Chambers is a native of Warner Robins, and she said that the reason she chose to attend Valdosta State University was because the institution offers her the education she wants for a price she can afford.

Aside from her role as director for ElementX, Chambers is the vice president of Alpha Lambda Delta freshman honor society, a summer orientation leader, a university ambassador, and a student assistant at the Office of Admissions here at VSU.  Chambers plans to use her degree in psychology to become a family therapist for military veterans who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, because she feels that she is a good listener and wants to help those who fought for our country in any way possible.

Even though this is only Chamber’s second year participating as a member of the troupe and her first year acting as director, she was introduced into the modeling world three years ago when a fellow church member asked if Chambers would like to model clothes for her online clothing site. After that, she realized that modeling was something that she was seriously interested in.

Chambers names super model Tyra Banks as one of her biggest inspirations. She said that she was able to relate to Tyra on a personal level, because like Tyra, she was the “tall girl in school who felt awkward because of her height”. And with Tyra’s help, she was able to overcome that.

Chambers has big plans for the modeling troupe as its new director.

“I would like to expand the group by becoming more ethnically diverse and broaden our horizons by showcasing our talents beyond just print modeling. ElementX plans to start doing runway very soon,” said Chambers, “our goal is to create a bigger presence on campus.”

Be on the lookout for Jamila and Element X next week, as the troupe will be taking their first steps down the runway at the Collegiate Week Fashion Show Forum on Thursday, Oct. 1. The forum will be hosted by the Collegiate Women of Valdosta State University. Chambers hopes that this will be a break out year for ElementX. If you are interested in becoming a model or booking ElementX Modeling Troupe, you can contact Chambers at Jlchambers@valdosta.edu or on Instagram @JamLeeCham_. You can also follow ElementX on Instagram @Element.XP.