Model spotted a struggling waitress with supermodel potential and decided to change her life

Life works in mysterious ways, and sometimes all you have to do is be at the right place at the right time. That was what happened to Achol Aleu when she was spotted by rising star and model Kenz Lawrén. Lawrén was in Sydney, Australia, when she saw Aleu working in a restaurant. "[Alue had] a natural presence so striking that I quite literally stopped dead in my tracks," the 28-year-old model told PEOPLE on April 14. She also revealed how she embarrassed herself during their first interaction, but was happy she scouted her. In a video on her Instagram, @kenzlawren, Lawrén described how she prepared Aleu for her debut project.

Lawrén wanted to ask if Aleu was a model and to convince her to join her 'New Face' project. She confessed that she had never scouted anyone before, but felt the need to do it. "Honestly, I totally humiliated myself. I never approach strangers, but I really didn’t want to miss the opportunity. What came out was: 'Do you have a menu?' Obviously, duh, we’re at a restaurant." Despite the awkward first impression, the two ladies exchanged Instagram handles and hit it off. Aleu also spoke to the news outlet, and thought Lawrén's first question was a bit silly, "but in actuality, she wanted to ask me if I wanted to model... I was surprised by the interaction but also excited to have help." 

Aleu had never modeled before, but wanted to try at least, and see if it was something she liked. As for their meeting, she said, "It felt like it was meant to happen." Lawrén has been documenting their journey together, helping Aleu gain thousands of followers on TikTok and Instagram. Aleu is excited and grateful for the guidance she is getting from Lawrén. She expressed, "My favorite part is seeing the end result of my hard work in photo shoots and improvement in my walk. The most challenging part is putting in all the hard work to get to that point."

However, it seems like all the hard work has paid off for the young apprentice. A boutique agency in New York is interested in signing her, and Lawrén also mentioned a magazine that was interested in reporting their series.

Lanny Zenga, a Fashion Talent Spotter, revealed that one of the most popular places model scouts go to find fresh new faces is chain businesses in tourist spots. A few examples are McDonald's, H&M, Zara, and more. Several models walking the runway were not scouted traditionally. Vogue revealed that Victoria's Secret model Raina Benchegra was scouted in 2011 when she was in a shopping mall in Marrakech.

Before Anok Yai was a model, she was a biochemistry student. A photo of her attending a party for homecoming weekend went viral on Instagram, and the rest is history. Gisele Bündchen was discovered on a school trip to São Paulo. She was scouted while eating at McDonald's. Aleu's discovery story is similar to some of these big names in the fashion industry, and with people rooting for her, she might just walk for some of the big fashion houses very soon.

Lawrén is happy when she sees Aleu coming out of her shell, and the latter's transformation is something she holds dear. Aleu revealed that nothing much has changed when it comes to her routine. She still goes about her day as usual, school and work, but now, a few more extracurriculars are in the mix. She has been receiving support online and offline, but despite all this, Aleu said, "The reason I started this journey with Kenz was to improve self-confidence and anxiety, so even if I don’t get into modeling, I’ve definitely improved in the areas I was hoping to improve in. And for those discovered in unexpected ways, if it’s something you want, go for it!"

More on Scoop Upworthy

This model is redefining beauty standards and raising her voice for a good cause

Famous plus-size model has the perfect response for stranger who body-shamed her in a waiting room

Aspiring model turns public spaces into his personal runway and everyone's rooting for him to make it