Cassandra Watson, the 24-year-old college student from Seattle, Washington, became the third girl eliminated on Cycle 8 of America’s Next Top Model last night. Although the judges agreed that Cassandra radiated a beautiful personality and inner strength, it just wasn’t enough for them to overlook her uninspired photos. Cassandra took time to talk to us at BuddyTV about her experience, frustrations, and her predictions for the Top 3.

Check out the interview transcript or listen to the audio below.

BuddyTV: Maybe you can start out by telling us how you got involved with America’s Next Top Model and what inspired you to tryout for the show?

Cassandra: I was actually just out shopping in a store and a lady approached me and said, “You look like you would be great for America’s Next Top Model.” And I was a little skeptical at first. I was surprised. But she told me to skip the line and come to the finalist auditions and I went and I got picked!

Did you do any kind of modeling before or prior to going on the show?

Yes, I was working with an agency called Seattle Models Guild before I got on the show. You have to kind of stop everything when you go on the show and quit what you’re doing and just do the show. So I was with an agency before that.

The house is infamous for bringing out the worst in girls, but you seemed to be very centered and genuine on the show. How did you manage to keep your head in the pressure cooker of the house?

Well I’m a very strong Christian and I always put God first in everything that I do. And my mother’s always taught me to be positive and she’s a very positive person so I was competitive but I was nice at the same time. And I feel that you can be both. You can be competitive and not catty and evil. So I kind of maintained what I’ve always been taught and I was always myself throughout all situations in the house.

Getting into last night’s episode, how did you feel about your makeover?

I felt that my makeover was amazing. I loved the Afro. The Afro’s a really proud statement, it’s really unique, it complemented my own personal clothing style and it’s funky. I thought it was awesome. I was really happy with what I received.

Did you keep the “do” after you left the show?

I did, yeah.

Do you think that losing the makeup challenge had an effect on your elimination or do you think it was more based on your photo shoot performance?

I think the bigger part was my photo shoot and my makeup challenge. You know I didn’t do as good in the photo shoot and I was late in the makeup challenge so that did have a really big impact on why I was eliminated.

How did you feel about the nude shot?

The nude shot I felt fine about because I knew that it wasn’t going to look pornographic and I had body paint all over me. The only thing that was hard was not having eye makeup on like the rest of the girls, which actually makes your eyes really pop. And also holding the ice cream, which was really, really cold. I got a first degree cold frost bite from holding that ice cream and I got taken to the hospital. The other girls got to put Vaseline and put the ice cream on top so they didn’t get the frostbite like I did.

Before you left the show you mentioned too that you felt you needed more practice. Have you continued to develop your skills since leaving the show and are you continuing to model?

Definitely. I’m continuing to work with the agency out of Seattle called Seattle Models Guild and I’ve been practicing in the mirror. And I hope that bigger and better things will come my way in the future.

Did you feel overall that the judge’s comments were usually helpful?

Yes, I felt that the judge’s comments were very helpful. They also told me my walk was the best walk out of all the girls and that really pumped me and made me feel even more confident.

What would you say was the most challenging part about being on the show for you?

The most challenging part about being on the show was sharing; sharing the bathroom, the phone, sharing the refrigerator with everybody’s food in it. But it actually turned out pretty good. It was just hard not getting much rest as well. We’d only get like two hours of sleep, sometimes three hours, sometimes four hours. So that was a little difficult as well, very challenging for me because I love to sleep.

Do you still keep in touch with any of the girls from the shoot?

I do, definitely. I keep in touch with Natasha, I keep in touch with Jaslene, also Kathleen.

Based off of what you’ve seen, do you have any predictions or favorites for the Top 3?

Um, I feel like Natasha, Jael or Jaslene will be in the Top 3.

If you could give one piece of advice to any young woman considering trying out for the show, what would that advice be?

I would say to be yourself, wear something nice and sleek, and show your personality off.

I know you already mentioned Cassandra that you are continuing to model. Do you have any other future plans, or is that kind of the direction you’re planning on taking yourself?

I’m not sure exactly what I want to do as far as you know, like a regular career yet. So I’m going to school right now and I’m getting my AA and then I’m going to transfer to a four-year for the occupation that I desire. But I’m not sure what I want to do yet besides modeling.

(Interview conducted by Royce Yuen)