NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Somali-American model, Halima Aden, spent the first seven years of her life in a refugee camp in northeastern Kenya. But it was recalling her recent trip back to the Kakuma camp, this time as a UNICEF ambassador, that brought her to tears.
"It means absolutely the world to me to see life come full circle," Aden told 1010 WINS. "To come back to the camp and to look those kids in the eyes and be like I lived in your shoes. For me, on a personal note, it was like I wish I had that as a kid. I wish I had somebody who has lived in my shoes come back because you don’t even dream beyond your borders when you’re that little."
As a hijab-wearing woman in America, Aden remained true to herself and worked hard to achieve her dreams. But it wasn’t always easy. She even recalls times that her classmates used to make fun of her for wearing a hijab.
"When I was in middle school they would tease me about wearing a hijab like, 'Do you not have hair, like why are you wearing the hijab,'" she said.
The lack of representation was difficult for Aden. She says she wished she had seen more hijab-wearing women around her, so she decided to do something about it.
"If you sit and wait for somebody to represent you, you might wait forever," Aden said. "My mother, I'm sure, waited forever to see somebody who looked like her. And I think that’s the beautiful thing about girls in this generation- because of all the women that came before us, we are paving our own narratives, we’re making our own ways, we’re not waiting for a seat at the table. We are bringing ourselves to that table."
Aden has become a true role model for hijab-wearing women. In 2016 she was the first woman to wear a hijab and burkini in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant. She is also the first hijabi model to grace the cover of British Vogue.
"How many people do you know that go from refugee to runway?" she said. "What I would like to see is children going from refugee child to doctor, refugee to lawyer…I feel like that’s where we need to head."
Aden has modeled for some of fashion's biggest names, but the chance to also serve as a UNICEF Ambassador and example for children in refugee camps is a role that she holds very close to her heart.
"For me, education and empowering these kids- that means the world to me. I can’t even see a career where activism and UNICEF- those two for me- that’s like my bridge and I can’t do one without the other."
Aden adds that she hopes to see many more "firsts" for hijab-wearing women and wants to continue to inspire young girls.
"It's not easy being a child refugee," she said. "But it also instilled in me this deep passion to give back and I never want to forget where I came from."
As part of their activism, UNICEF is encouraging everyone to text GIRL to 52886 "to contact your local legislators about the importance of protecting women and girls around the world."