By JOWIT SALUSEKI –
FORMER Miss Commonwealth Teen winner Brandina Lubuli has opted not to participate in the finals of the Top Model Africa in Zimbabwe in order to prepare for her examinations.
Brandina was among five other models that were chosen from Zambia to participate in the contest which is scheduled to take place in Harare next week.
The 20-year-old former Evelyn Hone College laboratory technology student says she would have loved to participate in the beauty contest, but owing to her  forthcoming examinations, she withdrew from the ‘Beauty with brains’ showpiece.
Brandina is currently pursuing a Business Administration programme at NIPA,
She said: “Last time when I participated in the Miss Commonwealth Teen held at Radisson Blue in the United Kingdom (UK), I was absent for almost a month from school and last year again when I participated in the Miss International in Tokyo – Japan,  I had a torrid time catching up in order to finally pass the examinations”.
The young model said she wants to prepare for the examinations because modelling is a career which fades with time as one grows up  hence she wants to focus on school so that once she takes a bow from modelling she does not get stranded.
Brandina, who was raised by a single parent, Annie Kaonga Lubuli after she lost her father when she was in Grade Two, believes education is very important compared to modelling which one can do when they are young.
She added that education comes first in her life.
Brandina is an ambassador for the Ministry of Tourism and Arts, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zambia Cancer Society, Panasonic Beauty, Miss Zambia Japan Tourism and Shoprite Zambia Community where she serves as brand ambassador.