Riannan Peterson is ready for the big time.

Peterson, junior in performing arts, is one of 40 Iowa contestants selected to participate in the American Model and Talent Convention in Orlando, Florida, in July with 1,200 other students nationwide.

Peterson says more than 100 national and international casting directors and talent agencies will come to the convention to hold workshops. Some well-known companies, like MTV, Twentieth Century Fox, Lucky Magazine and Disney Casting are expected to attend.

“It would be very helpful to go to Florida because it’s another voice to give me advice on my performance and tips on how to improve my technique and perform my best,” she says.

She found out about the competition when she heard a radio announcement for an audition opportunity and says she didn’t want to miss it. She auditioned in acting, dancing and modeling alongside 200 people in Des Moines.

“My professors encourage arts majors to audition,” she says. “So I thought it would be a great opportunity to at least learn what the audition process is like in a professional setting.”

From a young age, Peterson says she has had the ambition to be a performer.

At the age of 12 she was inspired by her mom’s performance in the musical “South Pacific.”

Erin Halbur, senior in performing arts and Peterson’s roommate, says she believes Peterson has what it takes to succeed at the competition.

“Riannan is a very determined individual who always stays on task,” Halbur says. “She is very positive about everything she does and about the outcome. I haven’t ever seen her just give up on something.”

Patrick Gouran, associate professor of music, says it’s always beneficial for talented people to perform on a scope larger than their local one.

“You can be the best performer in the world, but if you never get outside of Ames, Iowa — unless that’s satisfying for you — that’s the beginning, the middle and the end of your career,” he says.

Gouran says Peterson is an individual who has a grasp and understanding of what art and discipline is.

He says she doesn’t have her head in the clouds, takes criticism, is responsible, flexible and she investigates the character that she is attempting to portray.

“What I suggest for students in acting — while you may be very good here and now, remember this — nationwide, there are thousands of people who are as good or better, and until you encounter that you won’t know how good you are,” he says.

Amy Martin, lecturer of health and human performance, says there is a lot of competition in any performing art. Some talent is needed, she says, but the desire and willingness to do the work necessary to succeed in it is more important.

“The perseverance to never give up and the ability to take criticism and rejection and still get up the next day, ready to try again, can be hard. It is a difficult career path, and one must be realistic and understand it may not go as planned.

Yet the journey — the experiences of learning, trying, failing, succeeding, trying all over again, meeting all kinds of people — that is the fun part. It is a difficult career choice. It is exciting, interesting, challenging and never boring,” she says.

Gouran says a person must not only be talented in the performing arts field, but also have to have the right look and the “will of a Bulldog.”

“It’s tough to live what people would call a normal life. Yes, it’s difficult, and especially in this day and age of film, you have to have the right look,” he says.

Peterson says she is looking for sponsors to help her overcome her financial situation and get her foot in the door of the not only risky, but also financially challenging process.