And his advice to Gen Z is simple: learning doesn’t end with a diploma.
In Shaq fashion, he ended the message with a plug for his candy brand, encouraging students to “continue to eat Shaq-A-Licious Gummies at your local 7-Eleven and all the other stores.”
“Your character will take you further than your resume,” O’Neal said. “Continue to be kind. Continue to be humble. Continue to help those in need.”
Along the way, he leveled that failure is inevitable—and it’ll make you a stronger person.
“Youngsters, before you succeed, you must first learn to fail,” he added. “But in the words of the great Shaquille O’Neal, use failure as motivation. It’s a small percentage of people that accomplish things on the first try. Most of us regular people have to go again, again, again, and again.”
O’Neal’s latest diploma marks the culmination of a decades-long education journey that began long before he became one of basketball’s biggest stars.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, and raised partially in San Antonio, Texas, the 7-foot-1 phenom emerged as one of the country’s top high school basketball prospects before enrolling at LSU. But like many elite athletes, he left before finishing his degree, declaring for the 1992 NBA draft. The Orlando Magic selected him with the No. 1 overall pick.
Even after turning pro, O’Neal remained determined to finish what he started. While playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, he returned to LSU and completed a bachelor’s degree in general studies in 2000, with a minor in political science.
While it may seem unusual for someone with O’Neal’s wealth and success to return to the classroom, a growing list of celebrities and business leaders have gone back to obtain degrees long after launching high-profile careers.
Even Hollywood royalty has taken the long route to graduation.
