Glory Modelling Academy aims for the stars
Glory Modelling Academy (GMA) was established to provide pageantry training and embrace talent.
Since the academy’s inception in 2019, GMA has collected a total of 25 crowns. Owner and Director at GMA, Tracia Rose Van-Zyl told Vibe that they started from small beginnings with 12 model students of ages ranging from six to 25 years.
“We started with two boys and 10 girls, all amateurs, struggling with standing on heels let alone stride in them,” she said, explaining that their first title as a coaching institution came through volunteer work through RADP Maun.
“Our academy was asked to impart skills to the Mr and Miss RADP contestants within the Ngamiland region, and prior to this, our first win was a national title of Mr RADP Nationals First runner-up 2019,” she shared.
Their second big win, she says was a title of Queen for Teen Universe Botswana 2020, where their model student came all the way from Maun to win the title in Gaborone. “This means she was supposed to go international, and so this was one of the defining moments for GMA because it gave us hope that we are indeed headed in the right direction in terms of producing models ready for international stage,” she said.
They also won Miss Teen Junior Idol world 2022 1st Runner up and Morning star international 2023 1st Runner up for the international wins. “One of our proudest moments is that our model student brought back home a total of six awards and we also had the privilege of training Mrs Botswana 2022 who represented us in Bulgaria and was a top 25 finalist,” Van-Zyl said.
She is grateful for positive feedback from people who utilize their services. “They always acknowledge the results and always recommend others to consult with us,” she said.
“Parents speak of how their kids come out of their shells and are buzzing with confidence, and they notice results in their strides and self assertiveness on stage.” Her observation is that often, parents go all out in the pageantry industry
and spend more on outfits, makeup, shoes and less on investing on the pageantry training of their children. She therefore said they should rather consider training first, for best results.
GMA actually enrols students from the ages of four upwards and so far they have a total of 15 students, five based in Maun branch and 10 in Gaborone branch. Van-Zyl said that what sets them apart from other modelling schools is the fact that they are founded on Christianity.
“We train and nurture our models with Christian principles and with our recent international wins we stand to boldly say Botswana is packed with so much talent and we have proven that we can produce models and beauty queens who can do exceptionally well on the international platform,” she shared. Van-Zyl reiterated that GMA’s existence was also inspired by her beauty queen mother, who groomed her to also cherish beauty contests.
“My mother had me in her early youth, and it seems in her golden days she was a renowned Beauty Queen within the region having won Queen for all the beauty pageants contested including Miss Independence and Francistown Teachers Training college. I was eight years-old by the time and I was privileged to have a mother who was keen on beauty and beauty pageantry, who also recruited me into the beauty pageantry industry,” she share.
Van-Zyl would later follow through the same path, winning all the annual pageants through out her basic education days until at senior school level. She was also crowned Botswana's best third model in 2014 and also a Miss Botswana 2015 finalist. “My younger sister did the same through our coach, being our mother,” she said, adding that she looks up to top models including Kaone Kario, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks and now she is certain that GMA would produce such stars locally. Their branch in Maun is at Big Tree Valley hotel while they are based in Phase 2 Sunshine Conference centre at BurnOut Sessions gym for the Gaborone branch.
Since the academy’s inception in 2019, GMA has collected a total of 25 crowns. Owner and Director at GMA, Tracia Rose Van-Zyl told Vibe that they started from small beginnings with 12 model students of ages ranging from six to 25 years.
“We started with two boys and 10 girls, all amateurs, struggling with standing on heels let alone stride in them,” she said, explaining that their first title as a coaching institution came through volunteer work through RADP Maun.
“Our academy was asked to impart skills to the Mr and Miss RADP contestants within the Ngamiland region, and prior to this, our first win was a national title of Mr RADP Nationals First runner-up 2019,” she shared.
Their second big win, she says was a title of Queen for Teen Universe Botswana 2020, where their model student came all the way from Maun to win the title in Gaborone. “This means she was supposed to go international, and so this was one of the defining moments for GMA because it gave us hope that we are indeed headed in the right direction in terms of producing models ready for international stage,” she said.
They also won Miss Teen Junior Idol world 2022 1st Runner up and Morning star international 2023 1st Runner up for the international wins. “One of our proudest moments is that our model student brought back home a total of six awards and we also had the privilege of training Mrs Botswana 2022 who represented us in Bulgaria and was a top 25 finalist,” Van-Zyl said.
She is grateful for positive feedback from people who utilize their services. “They always acknowledge the results and always recommend others to consult with us,” she said.
“Parents speak of how their kids come out of their shells and are buzzing with confidence, and they notice results in their strides and self assertiveness on stage.” Her observation is that often, parents go all out in the pageantry industry
and spend more on outfits, makeup, shoes and less on investing on the pageantry training of their children. She therefore said they should rather consider training first, for best results.
GMA actually enrols students from the ages of four upwards and so far they have a total of 15 students, five based in Maun branch and 10 in Gaborone branch. Van-Zyl said that what sets them apart from other modelling schools is the fact that they are founded on Christianity.
“We train and nurture our models with Christian principles and with our recent international wins we stand to boldly say Botswana is packed with so much talent and we have proven that we can produce models and beauty queens who can do exceptionally well on the international platform,” she shared. Van-Zyl reiterated that GMA’s existence was also inspired by her beauty queen mother, who groomed her to also cherish beauty contests.
“My mother had me in her early youth, and it seems in her golden days she was a renowned Beauty Queen within the region having won Queen for all the beauty pageants contested including Miss Independence and Francistown Teachers Training college. I was eight years-old by the time and I was privileged to have a mother who was keen on beauty and beauty pageantry, who also recruited me into the beauty pageantry industry,” she share.
Van-Zyl would later follow through the same path, winning all the annual pageants through out her basic education days until at senior school level. She was also crowned Botswana's best third model in 2014 and also a Miss Botswana 2015 finalist. “My younger sister did the same through our coach, being our mother,” she said, adding that she looks up to top models including Kaone Kario, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks and now she is certain that GMA would produce such stars locally. Their branch in Maun is at Big Tree Valley hotel while they are based in Phase 2 Sunshine Conference centre at BurnOut Sessions gym for the Gaborone branch.
