Shaquille O’Neal put his foot down when it comes to his kids’ education. On The Jennifer Hudson Show, “I said something, I was just trying to be funny, but I was serious at the same time, I said, ‘You can’t touch Daddy cheese until you get two degrees.” Let’s not forget that the Lakers legend is pursuing his 4th degree at the age of 53. The importance of education is not lost on Shaq; that’s why he partnered up with Campus to provide more opportunities.

In January of last year, the 4x NBA champion teamed up with Campus.edu. He is not the only notable name to join as a partner. Previously, investors such as OpenAI founder Sam Altman, Discord founder Jason Citron, Bloomberg Ventures, Rethink Education, Reach Capital, among others, chipped in with funding for $46 million Series B investment. This brings the total amount raised to over $100 million. So, the bet from Shaq is solid on paper. But the launch of the Shaq Scholars initiative only came into place once he had a heartfelt conversation with his son.

Now, the Big Aristotle took to Instagram to explain the criteria that Campus and O’Neal put in place. These are the 4 principles that any student needs to follow. “The things we’re looking for in the Shaq Scholars are first, stay rooted, remain humble, connect it to your roots, and the community. Community is always important. Don’t compromise your values or your identity.” Solid first point from Shaq, who prides himself on building community and giving back in different forms. The next point is his favorite.

“Two, enjoy the journey. You know me, it’s important to have fun a long way. You only live this life once.” Whether it be on the TNT desk or his promotional material for any collaboration, his inherent fun-loving personality always comes out. “Number three, always be learning. I never stopped learning. I went back to school time and time and I’m going back to school again. The hard work will pay off.” Shaquille O’Neal is not kidding when he says he is back in school.

Chasing another degree–” So I’m in school now at LSU because I wanted to become a sports psychologist.” That’s why he is urging everyone to continue giving importance to education. The final point is the championship mindset. “And number four, be number one. You see, this program is for the people who won’t settle, the people who won’t be satisfied until they’re on top. And those are my four values.”

Shaquille O’Neal learned an important lesson

It was three weeks ago on CBS Mornings, where Shaq discussed at length his efforts to help more students reach their college dreams. Co-host and former NFL star, Nate Burleson, asked, “We want to talk about what you’re doing you’re already an investor in the online college called campus And now you have a new program in the school. What is it actually going to do?” O’Neal’s answer was clear: to be a mentor. “So it’s dealing with mentorship and helping people realize their dreams. We have to face it, people are very skeptical about college.”

Co-host Tony Dokoupil then chimed in and asked Shaquille O’Neal, “What do you say to their skepticism because they say cost too much and I don’t get anything out of it?” That’s when the Lakers legend spilled the beans on the conversation that he had with his son, which changed the perspective. “My son told me something very one day. I was kind of upset with him, but it kind of hit me. Said ‘college isn’t for everybody‘. ‘College isn’t for everybody,’ you know. A lot of people want to go to college that don’t have the opportunity like we have the opportunity to go to college. So this we give them, you know, the opportunity to get their education.”

Shaq is already known to pay for people’s essentials. Plus, he does ‘Shaq-to-School’ and ‘Shaq-a-Claus’ campaigns with JCPenney frequently to donate gift cards to the Boys & Girls Club, helping kids in need. Shaq Scholars is another way for the Lakers legend to give back and be a beacon of change.