In the words of actor Courtney B. Vance, ‘Black men have to start being graduates, ‘ and that is exactly what 9th Wonder, J.R. Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal have done.
We often see celebrities in the studio producing beats, on the court, or dominating their respective industries. Still, these men have proven that the pursuit of education never stops.
Despite already being successful in their fields, they made earning their degrees a priority and delivered.
Two-time NBA champion J.R. Smith earned a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies with a concentration in Applied Cultural Thought and a minor in Marketing from North Carolina A&T State University. What makes his journey even more remarkable is that Smith originally bypassed college entirely to enter the 2004 NBA Draft straight out of high school. He enrolled at the HBCU in 2021 and not only maintained a 4.0 GPA but also joined the Aggies golf team.
Perhaps most inspiring of all, J.R. was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and once doubted whether higher education was even possible for him. He proved himself wrong in the most powerful way.
Grammy Award-winning producer 9th Wonder crossed the stage at North Carolina Central University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies, and his connection to academia runs deep. He has served as a professor at NCCU, Duke University, and even Harvard, making him one of the most accomplished figures to ever walk across an HBCU stage.
And then there’s the big man himself, Shaquille O’Neal, who recently graduated from Louisiana State University again with his Master’s degree. As a proud member of Omega Psi Phi and the Divine Nine community, Shaq brought his signature humor to the graduation stage, going viral for introducing himself as ‘Shaquille I Hate Charles Barkley O’Neal,’ reigniting that legendary rivalry.
Beyond the fame and the fortune, 9th Wonder, J.R. Smith, and Shaquille O’Neal now have academic titles to match
