Tompkins graduate appears in television commercial

By George Slaughter, News Editor
Posted 5/18/22

When it comes to a new challenge or adventure, Rimi—she prefers the use of her first name only—tends to jump in feet first.

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Tompkins graduate appears in television commercial

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When it comes to a new challenge or adventure, Rimi—she prefers the use of her first name only—tends to jump in feet first.

The 2021 Tompkins High School graduate is appearing in a television ad for Famous Footwear, where she models Nike court shoes. She also models Nike sandals in a series of posters for Famous Footwear.

But landing such a job doesn’t come overnight. Rimi said it took weeks to know whether she landed the job.

“People think it’s so easy,” Rimi said. However, it is not. She has an agent, who submits her profile and demos to the appropriate producers.

“They call you back if they like you,” Rimi said. “Thousands are submitted, and they call back the top 10, possibly the top five. It is a very hard and difficult path.”

The commercial was filmed last November in Cedar Park, an Austin suburb. Additional filming was done in Coupland, which sits just north of Austin. Rimi’s mother, Hetal Ejner, accompanied her and took some photos of her daughter as the commercial was being made.

Rimi likes to keep an open mind about things. She served as both a volunteer baseball coach and umpire for the past several years. But she could not say whether she liked one professional team or another.

“They all have a lesson for us in their own special, unique way,” Rimi said. She also enjoys reading, but has no particular favorite author for the same reason.

She has continued her studies since graduating from Tompkins last year. Today, she is a freshman at Texas Tech University, where she is studying political science and sociology. She has accumulated plenty of advanced placement credits before beginning college.

“I have more than enough hours to be a sophomore,” Rimi said.

So far, her classes have been all online. She is not sure when she will continue her classes at the Lubbock campus. For the moment, studying online gives her a great chance to have more experiences.

“Maybe I can go into politics or government or journalism,” Rimi said. “It’s a broad degree. There are lots of options for me out there. There is no guarantee for the future for anyone. Everything can change in a few days, and I might go into government or entertainment.”

She’s keeping her modeling options open as well. She still has her professional entertainment agent. It remains to be seen in which direction she will step.

Correction: The printed version of this story in some instances incorrectly spells Rimi's name. The Times regrets the error.

television, Tompkins High, Texas Tech University