Submitted photo Boardman graduate and Youngstown State University fashion merchandising professor Jennifer Frank, 39, recalls the struggles of her teenage “chubby phase.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is one of a series of Saturday profiles of area residents and their stories. To suggest a profile, contact features editor Burton Cole at bcole@tribtoday.com.

Jennifer Frank wanted to be a judge.

“I loved watching ‘Murder She Wrote’ and ‘Perry Mason’ shows on TV and that led into watching ‘Law and Order’ and that made me interested in being a judge at a young age,” Frank said.

“I never took any steps toward being a judge. My passion for fashion got ignited when I was about to start high school, and there was no turning back for me. I knew that fashion was where I needed to be,” she said.

Instead of Judge Frank, she is Professor Jennifer Frank. Judging — at least when it comes to body image — is something she’s fighting against.

“I teach fashion merchandising at Youngstown State University,” Frank said. “Our program does a lot of work to promote body positivity, and we work a lot with the National Eating Disorders Association in memory of one of our students who passed away from an eating disorder. We have a big fashion show every spring to honor her memory where we have models of all shapes and sizes on the runway.”

The show scheduled for April 10 was canceled this year, along with every other event planned at YSU this spring, due to COVID-19 concerns, but the message continues.

“I hope that everyone learns that beauty is not defined by the size of your jeans — it is defined by what is in your heart,” Frank said. “I wish my teenage self would have realized that when I went through my chubby stage. It would have saved me a lot of tears.”

Frank was born in 1980 at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital and graduated from Boardman High School in 1998. She described herself as shy and not involved in activities.

“When I was a teenager, I went through a chubby stage where I couldn’t find jeans that fit me comfortably,” she said. “I remember the day I tried on my first pair of Calvin Klein jeans, and they fit like they were made for me.

“I was just turning 13 years old when I got those jeans. That was the day I knew I wanted to work in fashion. My passion for fashion got ignited,” she said. “There was no turning back for me. I knew that fashion was where I needed to be.”

She earned a degree in fashion merchandising at Kent State University.

“While in college, I completed an internship in New York City with a handbag company called World According to Jess. It was the greatest experience, and I learned so much from it,” Frank said. “I went on to move to New York City after college and work in the fashion industry.

“Working with extremely skinny models was just the way it was done. It really wasn’t questioned at this time.”

In 2009, she began classes for her master’s degree in American studies at Youngstown State University. She began her teaching career as an adjunct professor at YSU the same year.

In 2011, she signed up as a volunteer, feeding people at the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley. She started her other job as an office manager for the Tom James Co. clothiers’ Youngstown office in 2012.

It was in July 2012 that YSU human ecology freshman Danielle Peters, 21, of Austintown died of complications from bulimia. She had hidden her eating disorder struggles for years and wasn’t diagnosed until shortly before her death. By then, it was too late.

“I was not fortunate enough to have had Danielle in any of my classes before her passing. Since her passing, I have had many conversations with her mom, Mary Ann Peters,” Frank said. “I found out that Danielle and I had many of the same interests. I truly believe we would have gotten along really well if I had the opportunity to be her professor.

“Shortly after Danielle’s passing, my colleague, Dr. Priscilla Gitimu, decided to start having the EveryBODY Fashion Show as a way to honor Danielle’s memory and raise awareness about eating disorders.”

This year would have been Frank’s third year as the instructor in charge of teaching fashion show productions and helping the students put on the show.

“I am honored to do it. I have met so many people who are in recovery from eating disorders when we participate in the National Eating Disorders Association Walk. Their stories always lead me to tears, and I am amazed at their bravery and courage in sharing them,” she said.

The EveryBODY Fashion Show will be back next year, she said.

“I hope that our show helps at least one person who is struggling with an eating disorder seek help. We always have counselors who specialize in helping patients with eating disorders available before and after the show for anyone who is struggling.”

Frank remembers going through her own body image anxieties.

“I didn’t get out of the chubby phase easily or the most healthy way possible,” she said. “It was very hard coming from a 100 percent Italian family where we celebrate every good and bad occasion with food — lots of fattening foods.

“I wanted to look like the girls in the magazines so that I could wear the clothes in the magazines. I started to learn about exercising and make that a part of my everyday life.

“I can no means say that I 100 percent understand what someone with an eating disorder is going through because I never had one. I can say with 100 percent certainty that I understand feelings of being not ‘skinny’ enough,” she said.

“I try to make sure that we stress body positivity in all of our courses and our student organization, Students in Fashion and Interiors, participates in as many events with the National Eating Disorders Association as we can,” she said.