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Artists

Zach Bryan Earns Bachelor's Degree, Fulfilling Promise to His Late Mom

"...just a promise I made my mom a long while back."

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Zach Bryan's been busy with more than just music the past few years. Unbeknownst to most fans, the country superstar has been working towards his Bachelor's degree while writing and recording music and performing in arenas all over the country. Bryan revealed his accomplishment on X earlier this month, saying he took classes while touring.

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"Got my bachelors yesterday after exams in the desert and green rooms to about a hundred different venues," he writes.

Bryan surely earned the degree for his own education, but there was another major factor that influenced his decision to go back to school: his late mom, Annette.

"No arrogance attached just a promise I made my mom a long while back. Bound to be a good week guys," he adds.

Bryan's mom passed away in August 2016 at the age of 49. In a profile with The New York Times released in 2022, Bryan shared that his mother struggled with alcohol use.

"I think my mom dying really solidified the darkness in life to me," Bryan said at the time. "It opened that thing in you that's like, 'Hey, be a man now.'"

"People say I repress," he continued. "And I'm like, no, the person that I want to tell all this stuff to is dead. And you don't deserve me weighing in on my feelings to you."

According to the article, his mom's struggles also influenced the area of study he chose: psychology.

"I just wanted to figure out why my mom was the way she was, you know?" he said. "Like the most beautiful lady of all time and also kind of tortured herself."

Bryan's degree not only fulfills the longtime promise to his mom, but his studies in psychology may have an impact on his songwriting. Bryan often sings very relatable stories of love, loss and more.

READ MORE: Zach Bryan Stops Concert to Share Sweet Moment With 4-Year-Old Battling Cancer