Geneva resident a finalist in Mario Tricoci 'Make Me a Model' contest

A Geneva resident is one of five finalists in the "Mario, Make Me A Model" 2015 contest, selected by Mario Tricoci Hair Salon & Day Spa and its partners.

Paige Palonis of Geneva was selected out of nearly 500 contestants who attended one of five open model calls in Chicago, Oak Brook, Schaumburg, Orland Park and Crystal Lake, the release states.

In June, Palonis and six other finalists received five weeks of modeling training and a makeover from the Mario Tricoci team.

After evaluating the makeovers, progress in fitness and runway training, as well as online voting by the public, judges narrowed the seven remaining contestants to five.

Kaylyn Pryor of Evanston, Michael Blouin of Naperville, Kate Giroux of Fox River Grove and Joshua Pacheco of Lombard will compete with Palonis for the top spot.

“It’s a great group and those going forward truly embraced the process and the opportunity to learn what it takes to become a professional model,” said Megan Bueschel, Mario Tricoci Hair Salons & Day Spas senior vice president and chief marketing officer, in a news release.

The final five contestants will continue with eight more weeks of training. During that time, they will participate in a shoot for a group fashion spread, tape 15-second TV spots and walk the runway in a major fashion show alongside professional models. The fashion show will take place Friday, Sept. 25, at Redmoon Theatre Warehouse in Chicago.

The judges of the competition are salon founder Mario Tricoci; Michigan Avenue Magazine editor-in-chief JP Anderson; Fitness Formula Clubs director of marketing and public relations Daniela Spade; photographer Matt Ferguson; and – from the modeling agencies – Kasia Konia of Factor Women Management and David Love of Chosen Model Management.

The program is expected to launch the careers of four finalists and one winner. Since the program’s inception in 2008, more than 3,500 contestants have come to the open model calls; 30 young women and men have gone through the program as finalists; and nearly all of them have secured contracts as working models, according to the release.

For more information about the contest, visit www.tricoci.com.