Billie Jean King Graduates College At 82: ‘A Day 60+ Years In The Making’
King returned to the same college she left decades ago to pursue tennis.
Featured Image: Jeff Gritchen/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
Tennis star Billie Jean King is serving up a different kind of inspiration after earning her college degree at the age of 82.
King first enrolled in Los Angeles State College back in 1961. After three years, she decided to shift her focus entirely to tennis, leaving the world of academia behind.
It was a move that paid off; King has become an indisputable legend in the world of tennis, winning 39 Grand Slam titles and previously being ranked the number one female player in the world. She had an enormous impact on the sport over decades, and that impact was compounded by the fact that she was a woman and a lesbian.
Despite her countless accomplishments and contributions, King hated that she never finished college. And so, 60 years after leaving school, she decided to return to Los Angeles State College—now known as Cal State Los Angeles—and earn her history degree.
On Monday, May 18, King completed the chapter of her life that had been left open for so many decades, officially receiving her Bachelor of Arts in History from Cal State LA.
“I came back with a purpose,” she told her fellow graduates, per a press release from the school. “I had unfinished business, and it is important to me to finish what I started.”
This actually wasn’t King’s first return to the school, in a way. In 1997, she was given an Honorary Doctor of Human Letters as part of Cal State LA’s 50th anniversary celebration. But to someone who has worked as hard as King has over the course of her life, it’s clear that actually going back and doing the work to complete her degree held a different kind of meaning.
“It’s never too late to learn, to grow, or to chase the dream that still quietly calls your name,” she shared via Instagram after the ceremony. “Whether you’re 18 or 82, your goals are still worthy of pursuit. Keep going for it. Keep believing in yourself. And never let anyone convince you that your moment has passed. Because sometimes the most meaningful victories arrive after the longest journeys.”
