What do Sandra Bullock and Shaquille O'Neal have in common? They both went back to school!
Ah, celebrities.
Love them, or hate them, there is one positive message that many seem to be projecting these days:
- Education matters.
- It's never too late to go back to school.
If you're in the market for a degree, get inspired by these celebrities who sought a higher education.
SHAQUILLE O'NEAL
NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal left college early to become a professional basketball player. Still, he promised his mother he would one day return to school to earn his degree, and he kept his word, earning his bachelor's degree in business from Louisiana State University in 2000.
But he didn't stop there. O'Neal later went on to earn an online MBA degree from the University of Phoenix in 2005. "It's just something to have on my résumé," O'Neal told The Washington Post. "Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
SANDRA BULLOCK
On the heels of her Oscar-winning performance in The Blind Side, it's no stretch to picture Sandra Bullock tailgating at a college football game.
Turns out Bullock did that - and much more - at East Carolina University (ECU), where she majored in drama and rooted for her ECU Pirates. "At ECU I could go through everything a kid should go through in college," Bullock told the school's alumni magazine. "Some of my best memories are of East Carolina."
And although she dropped out of college just three credits shy of graduation to pursue acting in New York City, her college career did not end there. Bullock later earned her degree from ECU.
KATE GOSSELIN
Kate Gosselin is many things: tabloid fodder, a reality TV star, even a best-selling author.
Once upon a time she was also a dedicated student and registered nurse named Kate Kreider, who received her nursing diploma at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center in Reading, Pennsylvania.
She met her now ex-husband Jon Gosselin in 1997 and worked as a labor and delivery nurse at Reading Hospital until 2004.
LADY GAGA
It's hard to imagine now, but before Lady Gaga was dancing on stage in 10-inch stilettos, she was an ordinary college student named Stefani Germanotta. The natural brunette studied music, art, religion, and politics at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Though she later dropped out, a classmate helped the musician land her first paid gig. The rest, as they say, is American pop culture history.
VENUS WILLIAMS
Tennis star Venus Williams has won an amazing 20 Grand Slam titles, plus three Olympic gold medals. Her success extends to the classroom as well.
Williams earned her associate's degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, with honors of course, and is now the CEO of her own interior design firm.
JON STEWART
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tapes in New York City, which is the birthplace of its comedic host. Stewart, who spent most of his childhood in New Jersey as Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, left the tri-state area to receive his bachelor's in psychology from the College of William & Mary.
"I came to William and Mary because as a Jewish person I wanted to explore the rich tapestry of Judaica that is southern Virginia," Stewart joked while delivering his alma mater's commencement address in 2004.
STING
British musician Sting trained to become a teacher at Northern Counties Teachers' Training College, now known as Northumbria University.
The artist formerly known as Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner graduated in 1974. He taught school for several years before forming The Police.
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