Ashley Byrd

Ashley Byrd left her small hometown of Amite, La., to pursue her dream of being a model in Los Angeles. She is a first-generation college graduate with a degree in criminal justice from Southern University, where she played basketball for the Jaguars. She also holds a master’s in public administration. After several career changes, including a stint as a construction worker, she is now making her dream a reality, debuting in 2022 in SI Swimsuit as a Swim Search finalist. “I would tell my younger self that dreams don’t have an expiration date. Although modeling was something I always wanted to do, I didn’t have the knowledge or resources to make it more than just a childhood ambition. I thought I was “starting late, that I had missed my window of opportunity, but it seems that I’m right on time.”