{"id":129321,"date":"2026-02-10T22:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T22:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/129321\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T22:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T22:02:11","slug":"springfield-second-grader-prepares-for-new-york-fashion-week-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/129321\/","title":{"rendered":"Springfield second-grader prepares for New York Fashion Week spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

SPRINGFIELD \u2015 At 7, Mia Angelee Rivera is unassuming \u2014 until she steps on stage. At school she\u2019s a student, at home she\u2019s a kid, but under the lights, she\u2019s a star.<\/p>\n

Mia is heading Wednesdsay to New York Fashion Week, where she will walk in the TW Fashion Runway show Thursday at 3 p.m. <\/p>\n

The event will feature designers Juan Colon, Isabella Collection, I Love Mel D, Marisa Santiago Toro and Idol Jose, and will be held at The Blanc, 15 E. 40th St., 11th floor, in New York City.<\/p>\n

Before leaving for the show, Mia and her mother, Lian Sierra, 37, sat down with The Republican at their Springfield home.<\/p>\n

As they prepared, Sierra reflected on the early modeling work that helped Mia earn big\u2011city exposure.<\/p>\n

\"MiaLian Sierra with her 7-year-old daughter, Mia Rivera, in their living room in Springfield. Rivera is heading to New York Fashion Week on Wednesday to model for designers Marisa Santiago and Mel Duran. Feb. 9, 2026. (Douglas Hook \/ The Republican)Douglas Hook<\/p>\n

Modeling since age 2, Mia has appeared on two billboard features: one for Super Models Unlimited in Manhattan and another in Puerto Rico.<\/p>\n

Mia has picked up a number of pageant titles \u2014 People\u2019s Choice in 2020, Miss Facebook in 2024 and Best Hair in 2025. She also keeps a shelf of soccer trophies at home and dotes on her small dog.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s been recognized by local officials as well, with citations from Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Holyoke Mayor Joshua A. Garcia, Sierra said.<\/p>\n

On Instagram, her account \u2014 @sassy_mia_11 \u2014 has 373 followers.<\/p>\n

\"SpringfieldFrom the classroom to New York Fashion Week, Springfield 7-year-old Mia Rivera shines on and off stage (Aprell May Munford\/ The Republican)Aprell May Munford<\/p>\n

Mia said her favorite part of modeling is sparkly dresses, jewelry and the accessories she gets to wear \u2014 along with the thrill of being on stage. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s fun,\u201d Mia said. <\/p>\n

She also enjoys traveling for shows, especially to Puerto Rico, where she loves visiting beaches afterward.<\/p>\n

One lesson she\u2019s learned is the importance of confidence. \u201cIf you never try it,\u201d she said, \u201cyou won\u2019t get to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her dad works as a correctional officer in Connecticut. Her mom is both a nurse and a behavioral clinician who works with autistic children in Holyoke.<\/p>\n

Mia said her siblings admire her, each in their own way. She isn\u2019t sure where her brother stands on her modeling, but her little sister eagerly parades around in her dresses and crowns.<\/p>\n

When she\u2019s off the runway, Mia still has time to \u201cbe a wild spirit,\u201d Sierra said. On rainy days, Mia and her siblings pull on their rain gear and splash in puddles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhich I think is what I\u2019m most proud of,\u201d Sierra said. \u201cShe\u2019s not just focusing on her soccer or modeling careers. She\u2019s open\u2011minded like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SpringfieldFrom the classroom to New York Fashion Week, Springfield 7-year-old Mia Rivera shines on and off stage. (Aprell May Munford\/ The Republican)Aprell May Munford<\/p>\n

Mia\u2019s schedule can be as grueling as walking in high heels, they said.<\/p>\n

She attends second grade at Brightwood Elementary School, where her favorite subject is math. When she travels, she completes schoolwork provided by her teachers online.<\/p>\n

At school, teachers are often surprised to learn the quiet, well-behaved student in their class is also a runway model, Sierra said. <\/p>\n

On weekends and often in the summer, Mia spends long days in the sun getting muddy and sweaty at soccer games and practices before rushing home to put on a ball gown, crown, sash and heels for photo shoots or competitions with up to a dozen contestants, Sierra said.<\/p>\n

She sometimes gets only five or six hours of sleep before a 9 a.m. game or show, but maintains strong grades, Sierra said.<\/p>\n

\"MiaDespite her busy schedule modeling, soccer and violin practice, 7-year-old Mia Rivera is doing well academically. Her mother, Lian Sierra, right, proudly shows her most recent report card showing high marks across the board. Feb. 9, 2026. (Douglas Hook \/ The Republican)Douglas Hook<\/p>\n

While Mia hates failing, she handles it well, Sierra said. She\u2019ll be upset for a moment, then say, \u201cOK. Let me practice again.\u201d If she struggles with a fashion spin, she turns to YouTube or calls her cousins and practices until she gets it right.<\/p>\n

For now, Mia is taking a break from pageants. Her last title ended in June, when other queens were crowned. These days, she\u2019s busy building her modeling career.<\/p>\n

On March 21, Mia returns to Puerto Rico to model \u2014 this time for designers Marisa Santiago Toro of Norfolk and Virgina and Juan Colon Moda of Puerto Rico. The fashion show will be held at The Wheel, in Old San Juan. <\/p>\n

She also will appear Colon Moda\u2019s Puerto Rico\u2013based magazine Love Model and continue as a recurring model for designers she has worked with.<\/p>\n

Sierra said she hopes to collaborate with more local modeling agencies and designers to create opportunities closer to home.<\/p>\n

And down the road? <\/p>\n

Mia said she hopes to become Miss Universe one day \u2014 and maybe a firefighter, like her grandmother, or a nurse like her mom<\/p>\n

\"MiaLian Sierra shows photos of her 7-year-old daughter Mia Rivera on the catwalk modeling. Rivera is heading to New York Fashion Week on Wednesday to model for designers Marisa Santiago and Mel Duran. (Douglas Hook \/ The Republican)Douglas Hook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPRINGFIELD \u2015 At 7, Mia Angelee Rivera is unassuming \u2014 until she steps on stage. At school she\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129322,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[55674,55675,55676,2413,9,24,55,54,6231,56,55677,55678],"class_list":{"0":"post-129321","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-holyoke","9":"tag-lian-sierra","10":"tag-mia-rivera","11":"tag-modeling","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-new-york-city-headlines","15":"tag-new-york-city-news","16":"tag-new-york-fashion-week","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-rosa-ocasio","19":"tag-the-republican"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}