By Alex Smith, Austin Daily Herald

Seventeen-year-old Austin resident Jannel Howard has taken her talents from stage productions at Riverland Community College and Southland High School and utilized them for the small screen.

Howard starred in a commercial for Sears and Seventeen Magazine which will appear as online advertisements on websites like YouTube and Pandora.

“It was super fun meeting all the other kids and getting pampered,” she said.

She filmed the commercial right after school got out in a Minneapolis home. Though the commercial is only 16 seconds long, Howard said she spent the majority of the day preparing and filming.

“They gave you a short little script, but (the directors) changed it on the spot,” Howard said. “You have to be flexible and ready to think on your feet.”

Seeing the commercial the first time was a surreal moment for Howard.

“I was really impressed because I hadn’t done anything like that before,” she said. “I shared it all over Facebook.”

With one project under her belt, Howard hopes to do more commercial work in the future.

“I’d love to (film more commercials),” she said. “I just have to get called in some more.”