Karlie Kloss Is Leaving Victoria's Secret! (PEOPLE Exclusive)

It seems like model Karlie Kloss has been everywhere recently (and not just in bestie Taylor Swift‘s Instagram feed): she walks in countless fashion shows, books so many ad campaigns we’re losing count, and she took home PEOPLE’s Model of the Year award in 2014. And now, after walking in four Victoria’s Secret fashion shows (since 2011!) and working as an official Angel since early 2013, she is leaving Victoria’s Secret.

Karlie Kloss Tim P. Whitby/Getty

“Karlie is stepping down from her Angel duties,” a source close to the 22-year-old tells PEOPLE. “She’s got a busy but exciting year ahead and the decision came down to timing. She’ll be focusing on her modeling career, new business opportunities and NYU starting in the fall.”

Yes, you read that right, she’ll officially be a supermodel and a scholar. The news that she’d be attending NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study broke this week in Vogue‘s March issue (she shares cover real estate with pal Taylor Swift).

Apparently, NYU alum Christy Turlington Burns wrote Kloss a letter of recommendation, and she got in. Continuing her education is “something that I’ve wanted to do for a very long time,” she said in the Vogue interview. But you’ll still see her on the runway and as the face of standout brands like Kate Spade New York and L’Oréal Paris. “I’ll still be working full-time,” she said. “I’m incredibly ambitious and have lots of goals within my career that I’m not slowing down on anytime soon.”

Kloss will undoubtedly look back at her time with the iconic lingerie brand fondly. “She’s loved working with Victoria’s Secret and appreciates all the amazing opportunities the brand has given her to grow as a model,” says the source. “She’s adored working with everyone on the Victoria’s Secret team and all her fellow Angels.”

Updated: Ed Razek of Victoria’s Secret confirms to PEOPLE that Kloss is turning in her wings. “Karlie and I met several months ago to discuss the many things she hoped to do in her life and career. As we talked, it became clear she would not have the time to fulfill her myriad commitments,” he says in a statement. “Reluctantly, we agreed she would leave the brand at the end of her contract. Karlie is one of a kind, a very close friend, someone I truly admire and love. She is, without question, one of the best models ever. But she is an even better person. Her future is unlimited, and I am excited to see all the good she will do. Karlie Kloss will always be an Angel to me.”

Tell us: Are you as sad as we are to see Karlie go? Weigh in below!

–Catherine Kast

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