Glamsquad Magazine December 2022

FEATURE Model To

FEATURE Model To Celebrate 30 www.glamsquadmagazine.com

FEATURE Anok Yai: From Lonely Streets To Crowded Runways Praise David Born a Refugee, Anok Yai Is Breaking Barriers as One of Fashion’s Most Sought-After Models Deciding to attend Howard University’s 2017 Homecoming changed the South Sudanese’s life forever. Today she has walked fashion shows for some of the industry’s leading brands and has been on some of the most prominent covers. A photographer snapped her photo and posted it to his Instagram. The next morning the then college student awoke to thousands of followers and messages from modeling agencies. Her life hasn’t been the same since then. But followers and calls from modeling agencies is not enough to keep any new model relevant. By surrounding herself with a solid team of talented people and marrying her business savvy skills with strategy, Anok Yai and her team have strategically been able to position her as one of the fashion industry’s most sought-after models where the twenty-three-year-old has continued to stay relevant. Early life as a refugee Born in Cairo, Egypt, Anok and her family are originally from South Sudan. The nation has undergone two civil wars and, today, armed conflict is a reality of the nation. Anok was born as a refugee during the second South Sudanese civil war. Struggle and the fight to have a better life were the first chapters of her early life story. She knows the plight of being a refugee and today, it’s an issue that’s close to her heart. “Being a refugee myself, I know the kinds of struggles my own family went through,” she explains. “When we came to the US I was around 3 or 4 and we stopped in New York City first and then went to New Hampshire because they had the most benefits for immigrants. We were given government housing and assistance. Had we not been given that I don’t know where we would have ended up. Growing up I saw how much my parents struggled. Having assistance alone wasn’t enough. My parents were www.glamsquadmagazine.com 31