Today (May 27), congratulations are in order for Yara Shahidi as she officially graduates from the esteemed institution, Harvard University. The Black-ish and Grown-ish star began her four-year undergraduate program at Harvard, studying in the school’s Social Studies and African American departments back in 2017.
“Yara (noun): a Harvard graduate 👩🏾🎓 #ITSOFFICIAL #CLASSOF2022,” she captions her celebratory Instagram post.
A newly published feature on Vogue provided additional details about Shahidi’s journey. “It’s surreal to have finally hit this major milestone,” Shahidi tells the publication. “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.”
Shahidi completed a 136-page thesis paper titled “I Am a Man: The Emancipation of Humanness from Western Hegemony Through the Lens of Sylvia Wynter,” which explores the work of the Jamaican writer. “Writing my thesis pushed me as an academic, because the question I was asking was one I care about in my everyday life and in the world,” says Shahidi. “For example, ‘What could the future of equality and equity look like?’ My thesis was a moment to connect these past four years of education to something that connects to what I’m passionate about, and have ground myself in my entire life.”
Every detail was accounted for on Yara’s big day. For the attire, she sported a custom Dior two-piece suit, styled by Jason Boldenin, in crimson red to represent one of Harvard’s school colors.
The 22-year-old actor’s father, Afshin, celebrated the special moment by sharing a selfie of the two together with his new graduate wearing her black cap and gown. “Beautifully surreal moment seeing our delicate petal in full bloom,” he captioned his photo, tagging both his daughter and his wife, Keri.