Top model, top student: WMU Medallion Scholar slays in the classroom and on the runway
KALAMAZOO, Mich.—High fashion, paparazzi, runway shows with influencers and top models—just a regular Saturday for Western Michigan University music theatre performance student Maya Narayan.
After crisscrossing the Kalamazoo campus for classes and recitals and rehearsals, she hopped a plane to the Big Apple in mid-February to take part in one of the fashion industry’s biggest events: New York Fashion Week. Over the course the weekend, she walked the runway in three fashion shows, modeled in two photo shoots and even scored an audition for Disney.
“My mom was like, ‘It’s been a whirlwind 48 hours!’ and I said, ‘You mean that wasn’t two weeks?’” Narayan laughs. “I would have stayed longer, but I had to get back to Kalamazoo for rehearsal.”
This is the third New York Fashion Week Narayan has been part of in the past year; she also participated in events in February and September 2025, walking in 10 runway shows for multiple designers, being featured on a billboard in Times Square and landing on the covers of two fashion magazines. Not bad for a young woman who entered a county fair pageant on a whim just four years ago in her hometown of Goshen, Indiana.
“There’s been a lot of incredible opportunities, networking and doing all these things I never thought I would do,” she says. “Little me would be screaming!”
Motivated to make an impact
“You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Those words from a basketball poster on her brother’s bedroom wall have become a mantra for Narayan: She tried just about everything she could growing up.
“My mom is one of those moms who just kind of puts you in everything to see what sticks,” she says. “I did a bunch of different things that weren’t my strong suit, from soccer to ballet. Then in middle school, my mom told me I should try the school musical. It was so much fun!”
Narayan was hooked. She continued performing in musicals and plays and started singing in competitions and at events. Her junior year she was accepted into the Broadway Artists Alliance of New York City for its summer intensive.
“I got to train on Broadway and meet titans of the industry,” she says. “I was also referred to an international music competition and did well enough to get offered full rides to colleges for vocal performance and opera and music theatre—that was the point I realized it might be a legitimate career path. I had always been a science girl and very academic, but this artistic side is something that didn’t actually feel like work.”
After doing some research, Narayan discovered Western’s elite music theatre performance program and set out to audition—hoping to land among the small cohort accepted out of hundreds of hopefuls. She also earned an interviewed for WMU’s Medallion Scholarship, which is the institution’s most prestigious merit-based scholarship for incoming first-year students and covers full tuition, room and board and includes additional funding for research or study abroad. She nailed both.
“I’d gotten into several other top colleges that I’d only ever dreamed of, because initially I figured I’d get a degree in pharmaceutical sciences. But in my heart, I was waiting for Western,” says Narayan. “It really was a dream come true to get into the Medallion Scholars and music theatre performance programs! To know I’d be going to school for singing and performing, which I love, without any debt and to be so close to my family back in Indiana—it was just amazing.”
The land of opportunity
At Western, theatre students don’t have to wait to get involved in productions—they can start building their resume their second semester on campus. Narayan didn’t just hit the ground running when she arrived; she hit the stage dancing. Now a third-year student, she’s been cast in a show every semester so far.
“The more you throw yourself into the deep end, the better you learn to swim,” says Narayan, who has landed roles in WMU Theatre productions of “The SpongeBob Musical,” “Legally Blonde,” “Utopia,” "Dreamgirls" and the reimagined, immersive performance of “The Great Gatsby” at Heritage Hall.
“All of the plays and musicals I’ve done here have been instrumental in setting me up for success, but Gatsby was incredibly unique in that it was immersive. This meant that we, as actors, had to be extremely personable and skilled at improv,” she says, pointing out the show challenged actors to traverse various rooms and interact with different audience members to further the storyline. “That opens up so many opportunities and really sets me apart when I’m auditioning for professional shows; casting directors love to see those things on your resume—and to have it as a student is incredibly rare. I don’t know of any other colleges that have done a performance of that caliber and nature.”
Narayan is also starring in a lead role in Western’s upcoming production of “Sweeney Todd,” which runs April 10-25 in Shaw Theatre.
“Ever since I’ve gotten here, I’ve felt so much support from peers, from Western’s support systems on campus, from the staff, from my professors and my mentors who encourage me to continue to dip my feet into all the different waters and figure out what’s right for me,” she says. “I’ve been able to try so many things and find success in areas and opportunities that I may not have otherwise been able to explore.”
Western has also opened the door to professional opportunities, bringing theatre companies to campus for students to audition. It’s how she earned roles in productions at Farmer’s Alley Theatre in downtown Kalamazoo and the historic Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan. She also just accepted an offer from Tibbits Opera House in Coldwater, Michigan, to star in a lead role there this summer.
“Those are audition experiences a lot of people don’t get until they go out into the professional world and hit the ground running,” says Narayan. “Western has a wonderful reputation and a multitude of professional work opportunities. And we have an entire network of Bronco alumni who are successful on Broadway and in national tours and crews.”
Narayan says the holistic training she’s received in Western’s theatre program has set her up for success and prepared her for the competitive industry she’ll be entering after graduation.
“A lot of colleges make you hide your weaknesses, but we learn how to take weaknesses and make them our strengths,” says Narayan. “I feel like I walk taller now, I feel like I know who I am as a person and I feel like I leave a lasting impact in the spaces that I step into.”
Serving looks—and community
When she’s not busy on stage, Narayan is passionate about giving back.
As a Medallion Scholar, Narayan had the opportunity to develop a service project alongside her 2023 cohort. They launched the EcoBroncos registered student organization (RSO), which created a low-waste initiative at WMU basketball games to promote recycling and composting. She’s also on the executive board of WMU’s chapter of Circle-K International, an organization dedicated to community service.
"A dedication to service has always been close to my heart,” Narayan says.
She’s been able to blend fashion with purpose in her New York Fashion week experiences, modeling for Charjean Couture’s fundraising shows benefiting infants in intensive care. She’s bringing the knowledge of those experiences back to campus and sharing them with fellow members of MODA, Western’s largest fashion RSO.
“I’m so excited to talk to them about my experiences at New York Fashion Week!” says Narayan, who built confidence for the runway through MODA’s modeling workshops and fashion shows.
Overall, opportunities to get involved on campus and make a difference have fueled growth that Narayan sees as priceless.
“Coming to Western, I feel like I’ve changed in so many different ways. A lot of people come to college and change professionally; I think I’ve changed for the better in character as well.”
For more WMU news, arts and events, visit WMU News online.