The first three comments on the photo say it all: “She’s a beaut!” “She’s perfect,” “She’s amazing.” Then there were comments from those hoping that Yai is a model, “Please tell me she’s modelling,” one follower wrote. “Oh my lord! Look at God’s work, wow!! She is runway ready. I feel bad for the dude who was nervous to talk to her. She’s a gem.”

“We need @anookyai to model merchandise for Oceanairs Republic. #wordup,” gushed another. “An agency needs to sign her ASAP,” demanded a third. “Give her a contract.” While most wanted her to start modelling, others assumed the beauty had already graced catwalks and magazine covers. “Yeah I def thought this was some famous model!” someone said.

Believe it or not, Yai, who moved to the United States in 2000, has never modelled. “I’ve always thought about modelling,” Yai says. “It’s a dream that I’ve wanted for a long time, but always pushed to the side because of self-doubt and distractions from school. Now I see this dream as something a lot more obtainable.”

The sudden notoriety has been a lot for Yai to process. “All this attention and praise is definitely hard to wrap my head around. These comments took me by surprise.”

Of course, people are already knocking on Yai’s door. “I’ve had a few offers here and there, but I’m keeping my options open for now, before I make a decision on who I want to commit to,” she says. When she does make the big decision, she isn’t going to ditch school. “I definitely want to finish getting my bachelor’s in science, so I would probably finish school online while modelling at the same time; just have something to fall back on.”

She says the best part has been seeing people appreciate her very dark skin, characteristic of Sudanese people. “It makes me feel honored to be a South Sudanese woman. It shows that the standards of beauty are slowly evolving.”