Lind’s path to USC is one that many out-of-state students could relate to. She grew up in Minnesota and found herself seeking a warmer climate when it came to college. She fell in love with USC’s campus and the financial aid package they gave her. She traded her winter boots for a bikini but still insists she’s still a country girl at heart. “I really enjoy going back home doing the small town Midwest kind of things, going out with my friends, going down to the lake, stuff like that,” says Lind.
On campus, Lind says she manages to blend in pretty well. Some of her friends know her alter ego as a Playboy vixen, but most of her classmates are unaware. Lind has even managed to stay single. Like most girls, she is looking for a goodlooking guy who can make her laugh. If you run into Lind at a bar, she says the best way to approach her is to be genuine, start a conversation or offer to get her a drink rather than dropping your best pickup line.
“I’m very much a normal college kid…I do a lot of regular college things around here, go to parties, go to clubs the only exception is I get to go to parties at the mansion,” says Lind.
Lind first got connected with the bunny ears while still living in the Midwest. She was visiting friends in Indiana and heard about an open call and decided to try out. She made the grade and has been working with Playboy ever since. “At this point I’d love to keep working with Playboy … it’s been a fun experience so far,” says Lind.
Ditching the dorm parties for the parties at the mansion is just one of the perks that have come out of working with Playboy. Lind was also put up in the S40,000 a night Hugh Heffner Sky Villa at the Palms for three nights in Las Vegas for the Playboy Mobile Competition. Lind also met one of her best friends at a shoot and has been amazed at how nice and supportive the girls she has met through the magazine have been.
It hasn’t been all rosy, however. Lind says that outside of Playboy, while her family and friends have
supported her, not everyone has been as kind. “You can’t focus on people who are negative, and it’s just going to bring you down. You can’t please everyone; there is nothing you can do that is going to make everyone happy. Someone is always going to be judgmental or jealous,” says Lind.
While she would love to continue working for Playboy, Lind is still taking an active approach with her career beyond glossy pages. She is looking into the world of commercial real estate and has locked down an investment banking internship this summer with USB one of the largest banks in the world. Despite her work with Playboy, Lind hasn’t lost sight on why she came to California.
“Really, I want to make sure I stay focused on school because that’s what I’m here for, that’s my top priority,” she says.
By Eric Marty
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