Yao Ming earns college degree in China 7 years after enrolling
After enrolling at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China in 2011, former NBA star Yao Ming finally graduated this weekend with an economics degree.
Ming, 37, took the podium in front of his graduating peers at their ceremony and thanked his parents, discussed his math class struggles, and offered words of wisdom – he added that he almost dropped out on a number of occasions.
“Let me quote a famous conversation that happened on a basketball court 11 years ago, ‘This is going to be your league in a little while,'” Yao said, according to CGTN.
He also cautioned his classmates to consider their impact on society.
“Trust me, when a man spends 7 years in university to graduate at age 38, he knows what he’s talking about! … At a certain stage in the future, you should try to combine your future with the future of the society, because that’s how you can find larger space for yourself to explore,” Yao said.
Besides studying at the Antai College of Economics and Management, Yao is said to be active in campus culture.
The 7-foot-6 former Houston Rocket played eight years in the NBA, but retired at the young age of 31 due to a series of injuries in June 2011. He was inducted in the NBA Hall of Fame in 2016.
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