From a job at Neiman Marcus in Chicago to being a cast member on MTV's reality series Road Rules: South Pacific, Cara Zavaleta thought her world could not get any more adventurous.

That was until the Bowling Green native gave Playboy magazine a call over the summer and asked if her MTV fame might give her a shot at modeling for the adult magazine.

"I called them and said, 'Hey, do you want to meet me?,'●" said Zavaleta, 24, a 1998 Bowling Green High School graduate.

A couple of test photo sessions later, the young woman was named the November Playmate for the publication, founded by Hugh Hefner.

Zavaleta, who studied fashion at Bowling Green State University, will be available for photographs and to autograph the November issue of Playboy on Oct. 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Leo's Book Store, 333 North Superior St., Toledo, and 4 to 6 p.m. in Mike's Party Mart, 834 South Main St., Bowling Green.

First Published October 15, 2004, 11:46 a.m.