Grown-ish star Yara Shahidi presented a trophy at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards this weekend, but the actress had to leave the ceremony early to attend college classes on time.
Shahidi requested to present an award early in Sunday night’s live production, which was held at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, so that she could make a flight to Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was accepted into Harvard University in 2017.
The 21-year-old actress-model is majoring in social studies and African-American studies at the illustrious university.
In a 2018 interview with PEOPLE, Shahidi said, “With everything that I say, or with everything that I learn, I try to be more and more intersectional in just my thoughts.”
“I think it’s fortunately very helpful, being at an intersection myself, of race, ethnicity, gender, geography,” she said of her then-pending college entry. “And so I’d have to say that I’m just trying every day to be the best human possible, and to figure out how I can contribute, and in which ways my platforms could be helpful, and which ways my voice can be helpful, so that I’m not speaking on behalf of somebody, but if I am able to be in a position in which I can amplify a message, then I am glad to do so.”
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Tonight, Shahidi revealed that the “lovely people at The Academy really helped me out because I was like, ‘Guys, I have a hard out to make this flight.'”
Shahidi presented the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, which went to Brett Goldstein of the Apple+ hit Ted Lasso.
As for being at the Emmys in the flesh, Shahidi said it was “really exciting.”
“So many moments like these,” she added, “where we get to celebrate our work, have kind of been suspended because of the pandemic, among many other important things.”
Shahidi was also at the event to celebrate and support her cast members on Black-ish, which is taping its final season.
“I feel like I have not had a chance sometimes to really reflect on the impact of the show,” she said. “I mean, so many people spent the majority of their year pouring into this universe, so something like this is just such a wonderful way to roll into our final season.”
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