Sarah Boutcher and Meaghan Dietrich have a lot in common
For two people with so much in common, you might think Sarah Boutcher and Meaghan Dietrich would spend a lot more time together.
The 20-year-olds both grew up in Waterloo, went to St. David Catholic Secondary School, joined the Cameo Models roster about 2½ years ago and are students at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Yet with such busy schedules and different areas of study – Boutcher in first-year biology, Dietrich in second-year political science – they are more likely to run into each other at a modelling function than on campus.
“We totally would hang out,” Dietrich says. “I feel like we’re just so busy . . . that this is what continually brings us back together.”
Although they were aware of each other during high school, the first time they really connected was at the 2017 Canadian Model and Talent Convention in Toronto. The convention is a weekend showcase that exposes newcomers to modelling and talent agents, scouts, managers and casting directors from around the world.
After competing in various disciplines, the models check to see which agencies want to meet with them.
Boutcher turned out to be a bit of a rock star at the conference, generating 54 callbacks.
“Sarah was breaking records,” Dietrich says. “Everyone was fighting for her.”
In a 76-person age group Boutcher won in the runway, swimwear and go-see (audition) categories and was first runner-up in the vocal competition.
“That was the point for me where I was like: maybe I can actually do this,” Boutcher says.
She says her mother was even caught off guard when Boutcher was declared winner in the runway category. “My mom was like ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love you and all, but I didn’t think you would actually win that.’ ”
It all led to offers to travel to places such as Milan and Korea, but she decided to put international modelling on hold and signed with Elite Model Management in Toronto.
Standing five feet 10½ inches tall, Boutcher is built for the runways and has experienced the catwalks at shows such as Toronto Fashion Week.
The convention was also a pivotal experience for Dietrich who could now see modelling as a reality, even though she is five feet two inches tall in what is considered a taller person’s game.
Dietrich was able to parlay that conference exposure into a contract with the Sherrida model agency in Toronto. Among the jobs she has landed is a regular gig on television’s The Shopping Channel, helping sell beauty products two or three days a month.
She knows she isn’t going to be walking the runways alongside Boutcher, but she knows there are other avenues, such as print campaigns that pay well.
“I guess I used to look at (my height) as a disadvantage and I don’t anymore,” Dietrich says.
Outside of modelling, Dietrich spent 16 years as a competitive Irish dancer until recent demands on her time prompted her to pull back on that commitment.
Boutcher has a background in music. A former member of the KW Glee choir, fans of the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans basketball team may recognize her as an anthem singer, something she says she has done a handful of times in the team’s first two seasons.
Another thing Dietrich and Boutcher have in common is a passing interest in the Royal wedding set for May 19. Both say they’ll be interested to see how the big day goes for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but they are unlikely to be planning an elaborate tea party despite the evidence we gathered at our Langdon Hall photo shoot proving they would look great all dressed up for one.