Lucille O’Neal couldn’t fulfill her dream of getting a college degree when she was young. She gave birth to Shaquille O’Neal when she was just 17 years old, and hence, couldn’t complete her bachelor’s degree. After being engaged with family life for a couple of decades, when she reached her 40s, Lucille O’Neal craved to fulfill her academic ambitions. With Shaq’s support, her journey became a breeze.
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During a conversation with entertainment reporter Ny Magee, the 69-year-old recalled how Shaq inspired her to excel in college. She explained how her motherhood and her husband Sergeant Phillip A. Harrison’s army duties kept her away from college throughout her young life.
But when she found space for herself she finally seized the chance in her 40s. Excited for his mother, Shaq put forth a single condition: get high-quality grades to get funds for completing her degrees.
“When the opportunity came and my son and my daughters, they said, ‘You can go back to school’ but this is the best thing, my son said, ‘As long as you can grades up, I got you, I’ll pay your tuition’ That blessed me right there, it really did. While we encourage our children to get an education and study and improve themselves, I’m happy I was able to do that because for me, I want to be a living example, not talk but be able to just show, just be able to do, just be an example for my family and everyone else.”
Lucille O’Neal never sought any expensive endowments from her son, she just wanted financial assistance from him to complete her education. In August, during an episode of Raising Fame, Shaq recalled how his mother reached out to him to fund her studies. He said,
“I got a call one night. She said, ‘Baby, I need to borrow some money’. I said, ‘Why?’. She said, ‘I wanna go to school’… So, I was like, ‘Mom, you don’t need to go to school’. She said, ‘No, I need to do this for myself.’”
In June 2003, Lucille O’Neal graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration through Bethune-Cookman University’s adult education program. Then in March 2005, she also added a Master of Arts in Organizational Management degree from the University of Phoenix.
Shaq has also followed in the footsteps of her mother.
Lucille O’Neal inspired Shaq to finish his degree
Shaq had to leave his undergraduate course in General Studies at Louisiana State University (LSU) for the 1992 NBA Draft. This decision upset his mother who wanted him to complete his course before anything else. Thus, he promised her to resume his studies as he pursued an NBA career. In 2000, he finally completed his UG course and earned his Bachelor’s Degree.
In 2005, he completed his MBA from the University of Phoenix through an online course. This degree helped him engage in various discussions with top-notch business personalities and aided him to become one of the most successful athlete-cum-entrepreneur. But he didn’t stop there.
In 2012, he earned a doctorate in leadership and specialization in human resource development from Barry University. Currently, he is pursuing a degree in sports psychology too. Talk about range!
