Model graduate
By Kristopher Hanson
Photos by Jason Steinberg
Daily Forty Niner
Calendar girl and Cal State Long Beach
graduate Christina Becker seems to be on top of the world.
But as good as things are now, it was not
too long ago that 25-year-old Becker found herself grief stricken, coping
with the death of her mother and best friend.
The sweet-natured Becker has her own calendar,
Timeless Seduction 2000, in publication nationwide.
In 1992 however, Keiko Becker, Christina's
mother with whom she shares a striking resemblance, was found murdered
in her Gardena home.
The killer was never caught.
Christina was distraught and didn't have
direction in her life.
Soon after, she left California for Japan,
her birthplace, and began doing some modeling.
"It was OK over there," Becker said.
"But I was really missing California and
all my friends, so I moved back."
She wound up taking classes at El Camino
College in the South Bay, where she became more involved in modeling.
Still, she completed her Associate of Arts
degree before transferring to Cal State Long Beach in 1996.
Times were not easy for the German, Japanese
and Norwegian mix whom worked nights as a bartender and went to school
in the day.
The days were long and she admits "it was
hard working and going to school, but it was worth it (in the end)."
In the summer of '98, Becker graduated
with a Bachelor's of Science degree in International Business.
She continued working while also pursuing
her modeling career, which had started to take off with appearances in
Low Rider, Hot Rod, and Super Street magazine in her last year of college.
Around the same time, fellow CSULB graduate
Michael Williams discovered her among hundreds of models he was considering
for a calendar.
"I was really drawn to her face and especially
her cheekbones,'' Williams said. "After I met her, I realized she had a
great personality and character.
She's what drove me throughout (the project)."
In August, Williams and Becker completed
a two-day shoot that took them all over the Los Angeles basin and local
beaches, where they shot more than 1,000 photographs.
Most of the photos from the calendar were
shot around Lunada Bay near Palos Verdes, described by Williams and Becker
as very secluded, sunny and wet.
In an effort to give back to CSULB, Becker
has agreed to return 60 percent of the profits to the university for every
calendar sold from the Campus Bookstore.
She also gives 10 percent of all gross
sales to the Keiko H. Becker Foundation, a non-profit agency dedicated
to animal care and health.
"My mom always said ŒYou don't stay young
forever,' Becker said.
"She really encouraged me to do this and
now here I am.
This is all dedicated to her."
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