New Girl at Harvard, Super Model Tyra Banks Needs Harvard Now

"I Needed the Best to Get to My Next Level, so I Went to the Best."

Memmay Moore
With her hugely successful modeling career, TV shows and a 90 million dollar fashion empire, she could easily be teaching business classes, rather than attending them. However, super model Tyra Banks wants to learn even more. She is presently enrolled in executive education classes especially for entrepreneurs, at the world famous Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The California native graduated from high school in 1991, and rather than going to Loyala Marymount University in Los Angeles as she had planned, she moved to Paris to become a fashion model. Banks says that deciding not to go to college was the most difficult decision of her life.

The "America's Next Top Model" host, whose teen novel "Model Land" comes out in September, believes that attending an Ivy League college now will inspire others to further their education.

She also wants to show young women that they should continue to educate themselves, still be fabulous and celebrate their femininity, no matter what their age. Banks is 37. She says that she cannot just rely on her gut anymore. She needs professors to take her to the next level.

Banks started Harvard last summer and didn't talk about it, just in case she flunked out. She went incognito, wore typical student fashions with no fancy hair or makeup. She managed to attract little attention. She passed all her classes with a little tutoring.

The course Banks is attending is officially called the Harvard Owner/President Management Program. Tuition costs $31,000 a year. Ms. Banks does not have to live in the dorms. She only has to spend three weeks on campus each year to complete course requirements. This summer she plans to attend session 2.

Banks says she gets mixed reactions from her colleagues when she tells them she is going to Harvard. She feels they wonder why a successful model like her, needs to go to college, but she thinks it's a good thing.

"When people have low expectations it means you keep growing. Pretty soon they will say 'Wow' and I've learned it doesn't take much to wow them," she says.

Tyra Banks will continue to wow them. She is launching another beauty and fashion program soon called Fa-Fa-Fa-Fashion. She is also developing a new on-line fashion website...typeF.com. and she will be blogging.

With her confidence, creativity and business know-how, fashion mogul Banks has come up with the perfect name for her company. It's "Bankable Productions".

Sources:

http://marquee.blogs.com/2011/03/16/tyra-banks-heads-back-to-school-at-har...

St. Pete Times

Entertainment Tonight

Published by Memmay Moore

I am a transfer to Tampa from Boston where I had many years experience in health and nutrition education. I am now enjoying a new career in writing and photography.  View profile

35 Comments

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  • Lori Gunn6/14/2011

    excellent account

  • Lori Gunn5/19/2011

    excellent article:) - like Tyra- hope she gets nicer again

  • Sheri Fresonke Harper4/30/2011

    She sounds motivational:)

  • Laura T4/4/2011

    Grat article!

  • Michele Starkey3/24/2011

    Tyra is tenacious! Good for her, cheers, Mem!

  • Lorraine Yapps Cohen3/23/2011

    No one can ever take a college education away from you. Her decision not to go earlier wasn't a good one. Getting it now is wise. BTW, Brook Shields went to Princeton and nothing bad happened to her.

  • Sivaramakrishnan Ananthanarayanan3/23/2011

    Tyra has already wowed me with her attitude! Nice write up, Memmay - siva

  • Jeanne Baney3/22/2011

    That is really something! Good for her!

  • Delicia Powers3/21/2011

    Wow, this is outstanding, thanks Memmay for this great report!

  • Lois Lunsford3/21/2011

    She most definitely is an inspiration. Good report Mem.

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