20 stunning photos of Kelsey Merritt, the Pinay set to work with Victoria's Secret

To many long-time followers of Kelsey Merritt, her upcoming Victoria's Secret stint is just one of her many achievements as a budding supermodel.

 

A post shared by Kelsey Merritt (@kelseymerritt) on May 23, 2017 at 6:48am PDT

Merritt graduated with an AB Communication degree from Ateneo de Manila University in 2017. But that's not the impressive part. She balanced her studies with her then-blooming career as a model, having been contacted by renowned modeling agency Wilhelmina Models when she was a sophomore.

While to some, jumping at the opportunity would have been a no-brainer, Merritt actually opted to put the offer on hold as she wanted to prioritize her studies. She eventually flew to New York to ink contracts, but decidely not at the expense of her education. She was adamant about juggling both.

Shuttling between London or New York for fashion shoots, and the Philippines for classroom papers, Merritt conceded the feat wasn't a breeze. Jet-lagged and with zero sleep, she had to cram deadlines while on a plane, and take up tests about lectures she had missed. But as she told Ateneo's The Guidon in 2015, dropping her subjects wasn't an option.

 

A post shared by Kelsey Merritt (@kelseymerritt) on Apr 9, 2018 at 6:09pm PDT

"I can say that one of the best decisions I've made so far is to finish my degree instead of stopping it halfway," Merritt wrote about her on-time graduation in 2017. "People often ask me how I managed to do it, and all I say is that as long as you have your priorities straight and manage your time well, then it really can be done."

Since then, Merritt's career has shown no signs of slowing down. She's now truly an international model, with Supreme Management representing her in New York, Women Milano in Milan, Wihelmina Models in London, and Nomad MGMT in Miami and Los Angeles.

With her dream-come-true of working with Victoria's Secret, Merritt is sure to wow anew her fans with stunning photos. But first, here's a look at some of her equally beautiful snaps, as she's shared them on Instagram over the years: