Dylan from The Clique books is a Syracuse senior

Throwing it back to the mid-late 2000s the idea of overly selective popular groups was spamming our middle school and junior high days. Mean Girls was the go to film on popularity but, “The Clique” series was a huge fad amongst our generation as well. With over a dozen books to the series author Lisi Harrison made you wish that you were besties with Massie and her A-list group of friends.

Though we’ve all grown out of the once widely popular series, there is one Syracuse student who will always be attached to “The Clique” books.

Kara Gonchar, a senior at SU, was the model who portrayed the character Dylan Marvil on “The Clique” book covers.

“I was recognized a few times over the years, asked for my autograph on multiple occasions which I always thought was comical, friended on Facebook by complete strangers who were just fans of the series, and I would constantly get messages asking, ‘Are you the real Dylan model?'”

In the end, Kara was just excited to be involved with the series.

“Harrison had her vision, I was just happy to be a part of it,” she told The Tab.

When Kara went in for  casting, she didn’t know the shoot was for “The Clique” books. She thought she heard her agent say “Clinique” instead of “The Clique.” She went into casting dressed completely differently than she would have had she known what it was really for.

Once she arrived and realized what it was for she freaked out, as any teen would, and gave it her best shot. She luckily fit the part and got cast.

Kara told The Tab, “Living in New York City, I’ve been involved with performing arts since I was eight years old. With my parents support, I was able to immerse myself into the industry by getting involved with an agency and an acting coach.”

Kara modeled, acted, sang and danced for 10 years. She worked for Target, Kmart, PB Teen, H&M, Seventeen Magazine, Limited Too and Justice.

“Booking my first Teen Vogue centerfold at 13 was probably the most surreal experience in my career.”
Years went by and Kara became busier.

“I booked so many shoots that I was missing most of the school week.”

But this didn’t stop her. She put her career first and transferred to a school that could cater to her busy schedule: Professional Children’s School (PCS).

Throughout her experience, Kara felt that there were positives and negatives of being involved in the industry.

“I enjoyed the relationships I made with the clients I worked with every week, such as Target and Kmart. I loved working with the same people, as we became a family over the years”

They watched Kara grow and mature as they worked together over time.

Since Kara was starting her career so early in her life, she learned about responsibilities at such a young age.

“I learned how to handle myself professionally, and about the drive it takes to succeed at something you are passionate about.”
Although there were many positives to working in the modeling industry, Kara also faced many problems during her experiences.

The most difficult situation she was placed in involved discussion about her weight.

“There were times when I was at a shoot and the clients or stylists would make comments about my size. I worked for a French company once and the stylists said to me on set, ‘Oh did you eat too many donuts this morning?'”

Kara also had to face the fast paced environment she grew up in.

“My childhood was far from normal because I matured very quickly.”

She had to learn how to deal with rejection, which was difficult for her. She also missed school a lot which led her to struggle with friendships.

She explained to The Tab, “I did not have a normal upbringing and missed out on a lot of things, from the little things, such as not knowing some of the music my friends knew growing up, to the bigger things, like ruining friendships because of my busy schedule.”
Currently, Kara is not as involved with modeling as she once was. She’s studying CRS at Syracuse and is very involved with her sorority filling the position as Recruitment Chair.

“Although I don’t see myself modeling in the future, as soon as I graduate I plan on immersing myself back into performing arts.”

Recently, Kara has been working with Refinery29, Dormify, and Teen Vogue.
Kara paves the way for all Syracuse University students who want to pursue a career in some form of modeling or performing arts. She shows students no matter how old you are or what you’re studying, there’s always ways to get involved with whatever you’re passionate about.