Pulse star Zan Hyde a model student; graduates with top academic honours
Published:Sunday | August 13, 2023 | 12:08 AM
Pulse star and Caribbean Model Search (CMS) alum Zan Hyde celebrated a major milestone last week when she graduated from the prestigious Howard University in Washington DC, with the highest honours – summa cum laude. Hyde maintained a 4.0 grade point average for her courses and earned a Bachelor of Science in Political Science, with a minor in Theatre Arts.
This is a remarkable achievement for the talented 20-year-old, who had to balance academics with international modelling. While on her way to New York for assignments, Zan shared her excitement, post graduation ceremony, “I am feeling happy and grateful. I worked hard and I am delighted that I can make my parents proud,” said the beaming star.
According to Hyde, having to fly to Europe between breaks and sometimes during the semester for bookings made her more focused to do well in college.
“Most people think that working as a model while attending school would be a distraction for me, but my desire to make both work actually helped to motivate me to strive for excellence,” said Hyde.
The pandemic period was a blessing in disguise for the model student. “I began college just as the pandemic broke, and we had to do all our classes online. This gave me the flexibility to be able to work and attend school at the same time.”
The stunning 5 foot 9 inches beauty, who has done model duties for Louis Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier x Olivier Rousteing and Harper’s Bazaar, plans to delve full time into her modelling career and will be based in New York. She is represented by Elite in New York, Wilhelmina in Miami, and Select in London and Paris.
Discovered in Pulse’s Schools Model Search in 2018 at the Mount Alvernia High School in Montego Bay, Hyde enlisted in the 2019 season of Caribbean Model Search reality TV and won second place. Pulse Chairman and CMS TV judge Kingsley Cooper, who has discovered some of fashion’s world-rated talent from the region, recognised Zan’s star qualities very early in the show.
“Zan is a top performer. She is very driven and determined, great assets to have in the modelling business and, in fact, in life,” said Cooper.
High achievement and leadership have been part of Hydes’ academic journey While in high school, Zan was the Junior Mayor for St James and she has also won several awards in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission competitions in the visual and performing arts. The all-rounder was her prep school track and field captain, holds a brown belt, and is an instructor in Kung Fu.
Hyde’s outstanding academic accolade has come as no surprise to Pulse Director of Fashion & Lifestyle, Romae Gordon.
“Zan is conscientious and was a fierce competitor who won several of the challenges in the series. We knew from our first encounter with her on the grounds of Mount Alvernia that she was exceptional, and not just for her potential as a model but as an individual. Her poise and self-assurance encourages a sense of great expectations. Zan is a young woman who is destined to achieve significant accomplishments throughout the course of her life,” said Gordon.