A commitment to education and bettering themselves is all we want from our young people. And with role models like Venus Williams, this will be their future and more.

The former world’s #1 tennis player, Venus Williams can add college graduate to her impressive resume. We are not talking about some honorary degree you see many celebrities grab because of their name recognition. Williams earned hers the old fashion way, by taking classes, studying and working her tail off in the process.

At the age of 35, Venus Williams became a graduate with a Bachelors of Science in Business Administration from Indiana University East online degree completion program.

“I’ve learned so much,” Williams said in an IU East press release. “It was always my dream to have a business degree, and I ended up going to art school so many times, but in the back of my head I felt like I needed the tools to be a better leader, to be a better planner, to be better at all of the things I wanted to do in my businesses because I’m so hands-on.”

[ADSENSE2]Williams started the program in 2011 and 

Williams started the program in 2011 and has worked diligently between playing tennis around the world, running her various businesses and taking classes. You may recall, in 2007, she got her associates degree from the Art Institute of Fort lauderdale.

Getting a formal education has always been important to Venus, but we don’t expect to stop here. She hasn’t made mention, but she seems to enjoy the learning process and wants to add as much to her post tennis career as possible.

She helped start the program….

What’s really amazing is that Venus is the first Women’s Tennis Association player to graduate from this joint program formed between UI East and the Women’s Tennis Benefits Association…and she helped start it.

“IU East and the Women’s Tennis Benefits Association have an agreement that establishes our campus as the primary provider for baccalaureate online degree completion programs for WTA players,” Cruz-Uribe, Chancellor of IU East, said. “Venus was instrumental in connecting IU East and the WTA in this highly-valued partnership, and we are very grateful for this.”