Haley Kalil delivered a powerful message Wednesday that women can be both smart and sexy.
Kalil, 24, is about to make her first appearance in the 2018 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
“BECAUSE A WOMAN CAN BE BOTH. I can graduate with a 4.0 gpa and the highest honors in academia and pose for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit,” she wrote on Instagram. “Because one can be intelligent, powerful, and worthy of respect while still embracing sensuality, sexuality, and femininity.”
She shared two photos with the message, one of her in a cap and gown and another from her rookie shoot in Belize rocking a barely-there one-piece swimsuit. (RELATED: Celebrate National No Bra Day With These Ladies Who Free The Nipple [SLIDESHOW])
“Whether a scientist, artist, mother, daughter, wife, creator, CEO, doctor, banker… a woman is allowed to embrace every aspect of who she is and what she is–including her sensuality,” Kalil added. “This is why I was HONORED to pose for this year’s issue of @si_swimsuit– because women should be allowed to be powerful, beautiful, intelligent, nurturing, sensual, and most importantly, worthy of respect, all at the same time!”
Kalil was one of six ladies selected in Sports Illustrated’s first-ever open casting call last year. All six of them posed for their first shoot with SI and will appear in the upcoming issue this month. One lucky lady will be selected as a 2019 SI Swimsuit rookie.