Freshman “made” on MTV reality show

If all you know are jeans, t-shirts and tennis shoes, imagine the stress of having to go to bikinis, evening gowns and high heels.

That’s exactly what happened to University of Wisconsin-Green Bay freshman Sarah Potts (shown in the photo above, third from the right). She was chosen by the MTV show “Made” to be transformed in four short weeks from a “jock” at her small town high school into a confident woman with stage presence.

Potts first decided to enter herself somewhat as a joke, but never imagined getting chosen or what the outcome would be.

“Honestly, we were all surprised MTV would even consider Plymouth High School,” Potts explained. “I just thought it would be fun to audition, and then it ended up being one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever had.”

While Potts achieved her goal in the end of wanting to gain more self-confidence and become a better public speaker, the process definitely did not come easy. While spending nearly the entire month of April being filmed from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. or beyond, each day, the level of stress was overwhelming at times.

Between school, soccer practice and training, Potts said the hardest part of the process was balancing everything. Luckily, she had her friends and family to fall back on.

“My parents and brother were very supportive through everything,” Potts said. “And when things got hard, my soccer team was always there to help me.”

Potts and her family became extremely close with the MTV crew throughout the taping, as well as with her pageant coach Rocky Graziano, who was with her every painful high-heeled step of the way.

“I’m so grateful Rocky helped me reach my goal,” said Potts. “I would definitely do this experience again if I had the chance.”

After the grueling four-week process, Potts competed in her first ever “pageant,” where she definitely looked and acted the part of a confident contestant.

And if you’re thinking all reality shows are fake and scripted, think again.

“Everything that happened was real,” Potts explained. “Every time I laughed, was angry, or cried, was all real.”

Check out Sarah Potts’ “Made” transformation on the MTV Web site, season 10 episode 18, to discover that the things you wish for may be closer to reality than you give them credit for.

Text by Lauren Muench, Marketing and University Communication intern