Dwyane Wade, Gabrielle Union and Zaya Wade step into ‘college visits season’

While high school seniors anxiously await college admission decisions, Zaya Wade is joining the fleet of high school sophomores and juniors touring college campuses around the country. This weekend, the 16-year-old and her parents, Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union, toured the University of Washington in Seattle. 

Commemorating the family’s first of what will likely be many visits, the basketball star posted a series of pictures and videos on Instagram. 

“We’re in the College Visits season!!!,” Wade captioned the post. 

Rocking purple, one of the school’s colors, Wade shared a heartwarming picture of him and his daughter walking around campus under a purple umbrella. Similarly, Wade shared a video of Zaya and his wife walking around the campus quad surrounded by blooming flowers and greenery. 

The post also included a candid shot of Zaya in the university’s Suzzallo Library and a video of the couple smiling during the tour. 

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Going to college would only be one of the many accomplishments Zaya achieved in her life. Since publicly coming out as transgender at 12 years old, Zaya has grown to be an LGBTQ+ activist, influencer and model. By the age of 15, she modeled in a series of campaigns and magazine covers and walked in Miu Miu’s 2023 Fall/Winter Paris Fashion Week runway show. 

“Being my full authentic self feels like freedom. Being out and open and truthful about who I am to myself and others is just freeing,” Zaya told Logo in a 2022 campaign. “It’s a beautiful feeling to have and hold and to be able to share with the rest of the world.”

Through it all, Union and Wade have been by Zaya’s side, encouraging her every step of the way. 

“As your father, all I’ve wanted to do is get it right. I’ve sat back and watched how gracefully you’ve taken on public scrutiny. And even though it’s not easy, I watched you walk out of the house every morning. I admire how you handle the ignorance in our world,” Wade said in his speech at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards.

“As your father, my job isn’t to create a version of myself that directs your future,” he said. “My role is to be a facilitator to your hopes, your wishes your dreams.”

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