It’s never too late to earn your high school diploma. And at 42 years old, actor Mark Wahlberg proves just that.
After dropping out of high school and not going beyond a 9th grade education, the actor felt it had been the biggest regret in his life.
In an essay to the Huffington Post, he explains recently earning his diploma after completing a year long online course.
“For almost a year, I’ve been taking classes and studying any chance I could get – on the set, travelling for work and at home,” he wrote. “It has been both humbling and challenging.”
As a result, the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, has teamed up with the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens to assist adults with completing their education online.
Speaking at Taco Bell’s headquarter’s earlier in the week he stated, “I was lucky, but a lot of my friends who did the same ended up incarcerated or dead.”
And in his essay to Huffington Post Wahlberg goes on to encourage struggling students to earn their degree and his own reasons for doing so.
“To those students struggling every day and – most importantly – to those who are looking for a second chance, I have a message for you: Never give up. Keep believing in yourselves and don’t make small plans,” he adds.
“I can now look at my kids every day knowing that I didn’t just do this for me – I did it for them, and I did it for all the other teens and adults who have inspired me by their commitment to graduate. If we don’t live by example, then what do we live by? I am proud to re-introduce myself to you today as: Mark Wahlberg – High School Graduating Class of 2013.”
Congratulations Mark!
