“I’ve known I wanted to go to college since I was four. By 17, I knew exactly what I wanted to study,” the actress said.
Yara Shahidi graduated from Harvard University on Friday and she and her proud parents celebrated the milestone on social media.
Shahidi’s father, Afshin, shared a selfie of the two together with the 22-year-old “Black-ish” and “Grown-ish” star wearing her black cap and gown,
As reported previously by theGrio, Shahidi revealed in a 2018 interview how her television character helped her prepare for college.
“I feel like what Black-ish and Grown-ish have taught me is that my opinion matters,” she told PEOPLE. “Being on a set in which they want to hear your voice, and they want to hear your input — you know, it’s very special for an actor — but particularly, a teenager. And a teenage girl. There’s statistics done on just how subdued our voices are, because we aren’t really given a space, or the support.”
As an undergrad at Harvard, Shahidi studied at the university’s social studies and African American departments, concentrating on “Black political thought under a neocolonial landscape,” she told Vogue.
“It’s surreal to have finally hit this major milestone,” she told the magazine. “I’ve known I wanted to go to college since I was four. By 17, I knew exactly what I wanted to study, so to see that come to fruition is a goal fulfilled.”
As part of her graduation obligations, the actress unpacked the work of Jamaican writer Sylvia Wynter for a 136-page thesis paper titled “I Am a Man: The Emancipation of Humanness from Western Hegemony Through the Lens of Sylvia Wynter.”
“For the majority of my career, I’ve always had an essay or assignment due. This feels like a new chapter where I can invest time into more of what I love to do,” she said.
The graduation photos she shared on Instagram have garnered many congratulatory comments from some of her celebrity pals, including Tracee Ellis Ross, Shahidi’s “Black-ish” co-star, and La La Anthony, who wrote, “Amazing!! Congrats!!! So proud of u❤️.”
Meanwhile, you can catch Shahidi on the forthcoming fifth season of “Grown-ish,” which kicks off in July.
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The post Yara Shahidi graduates from Harvard University appeared first on TheGrio.
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