If you’re the average American high school senior, it’s likely your college application might mention something about the semester you took an honors math class, your stint on the debate team, and a letter of recommendation from a friend’s dad you interned for a few days a week one summer.
If you’re Yara Shahidi, your resume includes, a leading role in an Emmy-nominated sitcom (with your own spinoff in the works), an appearance in Beyoncé’s latest Ivy Park campaign, and founding Yara’s Club, a young women’s mentoring program discussing the importance of girls’ education. If that doesn’t secure a full-ride scholarship to the Ivy of her choice, the ‘Blackish’ star’s recommendation letter was written by Michelle Obama.
The 17-year-old casually revealed to W Magazine that the former FLOTUS also gave her a “go get ’em, tiger” back-rub before she took her AP exams. And to her 695K Instagram followers, she’s still somehow relatable.
“Being politically engaged is a way of addressing concerns and realizing the power that we hold when we channel our energy and voices into making positive changes,” Yara affirmed to i-D at the end of last year, adding that she had ambitions to study sociology.
Which school the young starlet has her sights set on is still unconfirmed, but wherever she ends up, it’s safe to say the girl is going places.
Credits
Text Taylor Ford
[The Big Issue, No. 346]
Photography Gia Coppola
Styling Heathermary Jackson
Hair Jamal Hammadi at Art Department
Make-up Tracy Alfajora at Jed Root
Photography assistance Nicole Netzah
Styling assistance Jordyn Payne, Quan Nguyen