German top model Sara Nuru looks beyond the catwalk

Sara Nuru orders an Americano and smiles broadly as she walks over to our table in a café in downtown Munich. Sure, I know she's a model, but her beautiful face catches me off guard.

She's dressed in a minimalistic but stylish way: a white silk blouse, black pants and black-and-white shoes. But anyone who tries to reduce Sara to her appearance like that is taking the wrong approach.

"I'm not that interested in fashion, even though everyone expects me to be," she admits. Clothes are nice to look at and wear and are part of a model's toolbox, but nothing more, she adds.

Top model by accident

At the age of 19, Sara Nuru took first place in the television casting show "Germany's Next Topmodel," which has been hosted for years by Heidi Klum. Many of Sara's peers in Germany can be found glued to their screen each week for the "event." Getting to participate in the show and be coached by Heidi is, for many, a dream come true.

But for Sara, things were different. She got on the show by accident. Her then-boyfriend signed her up for an open casting in Munich. But she didn't regret it. The three months of filming that followed were one of the best times of her life, she remembers nostalgically.

Since winning six years ago, Sara has lent her face to numerous ad campaigns, has walked at fashion shows from Paris to New York and has even appeared in a German movie.

Sara Nuru was born in Erding, a small suburb of Munich. Three years before her birth, her parents and her two older sisters had emigrated from Ethiopia. Sara is very close with her family, and her sister Sali is even part of her management team.

Her childhood in Erding and Munich is something Sara has fond memories of. "I know journalists want to hear about discrimination," she says, but adds that she always felt like she belonged. "I think it's a matter of attitude. You can go through the world and think you're a foreigner and then you'll always be the black person. Or you can say: That's how it is, so what?"

Culture clash: Top model in Ethiopia

Shortly after she won "Germany's Next Topmodel," Sara started working with an NGO called Menschen für Menschen (People for People) in Ethiopia, her parents' home country. She became an ambassador for the organization's education program.

On her first visit to Ethiopia, Sara felt like two worlds had clashed: her new-found fame and glamour and the simple, impoverished lives of the Ethiopians she met.

It's not uncommon for celebrities to boost their image by getting involved in charity work - but Sara's commitment seems authentic. She feels a special connection to the people - especially the children - in Ethiopia.

Her work in Ethiopia has changed her a lot, explains Sara. She says she's become less carefree and has started to question the deeper meaning behind her job as a model.

"Over the years I've noticed how superficial the industry can be sometimes. But that's ok because I've chosen this job," she observes. On the other hand, she finds her passion and greater meaning in life in her NGO work.

Reunification day: Celebrating two homes

On October 3, Germany marks 25 years since reunification. On that day, Sara will be participating in a charity event in Würzburg called "Feel Ethiopia," which includes a fashion show of traditional Ethiopian dress.

Sara will be celebrating both homes on October 3: that of her parents, and the one her family chose to adopt some three decades ago.

Sara Nuru is already older that some of the other models at the international fashion events. But that doesn't bother her.

"I don't think very much about what will happen in five or 10 years. So far my life hasn't gone according to plan," she says. Maybe it's the Ethiopian part of her that manages to live more in the moment and not worry too much about the future, she adds.