In 2019, Forbes magazine reported that nearly 1 million Americans made the decision to return back to college within the last 5 years. It has been proven by many that a college degree is not the only way to achieve success, however it is one of the best ways to expand your knowledge after you've already obtained some kind of success. These celebrities are some of the people that decided to further their education and knowledge of the world.
1. Yara Shahidi
At age 17, Yara was accepted into Harvard University on her own merit, but she also received a raving letter of recommendation from former First Lady Michelle Obama. At the time, Yara was in the middle of filming Grown-ish and Black-ish so she decided to take a gap year before starting school. A year later the actress and activist began her studies and later went on to graduate from the university in 2022. It is unclear the exact degree that Shahidi obtained but according to Vogue Magazine, the actress studied in the school's social studies and African American history departments.
2. Shaquille O'Neal
Shaq left Louisiana State University early to enter the NBA draft in 1992. After 8 years in the league, Shaq finished school and graduated with his bachelor's from LSU. He didn't stop there. The NBA champion wanted to show people that he deserved his seat in business meetings, so he went to the University of Phoenix to get his master's in business. He also paid for 15 of his friends to take these classes with him and earn degrees. In 2012, he earned a doctorate from Barry University. He credits his mother for always stressing to him the importance of education.
3. Stephen Curry
Nearly 13 years after he left college, NBA Finals MVP Steph Curry returned to Davidson University to earn his bachelor's in sociology. He finishes his spring coursework all while competing and winning an NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors. The University was so honored by his decision that they decided to retire his jersey number, making him the first student-athlete from Davidson University to have their jersey number retired. He walked the stage and had his jersey retired on the same day
4. Venus Williams
At age 35, tennis superstar Venus Williams achieved one of her lifelong goals of studying business. She attended The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and earned an associate's degree. In 2015, she graduated with a Bachelor in Business Administration from Indiana University. Williams said, “I’ve learned so much. It was always my dream to have a business degree and I ended up going to art school so many times, but in the back of my head I felt like I needed the tools to be a better leader, to be a better planner, be better at all of the things I wanted to do in my businesses because I’m so hands-on.”
5. Miranda Cosgrove
At age 19, after her hit show iCarly ended, actress Miranda Cosgrove went on the go to regular school for the first time since the 6th grade. She attended the University of Southern California and started to study film. With just a year left, she decided to change her major to psychology in 2017 and reportedly graduated a year later.
6. Nick Cannon
Nick Cannon not only played a college student on the big screen, but he went on to be a college student in real life. In 2008, the multifaceted star enrolled at Howard University majoring in communications. After working with a professor that was running a reform program in the DC prison system, Cannon took a big interest in working with incarcerated youth which prompted him to switch his major to criminology. He would later graduate from the university in 2012. In a recent podcast interview, Cannon expressed his interest in possibly going back to school to get a degree in child psychology to better help him understand his children.