Arizona Cardinals’ Larry Fitzgerald graduated from the University of Phoenix this past weekend, a milestone which is already significant in itself. But for the wide receiver, getting that degree meant more to him than the culmination of many years of hard work…it also meant fulfilling his mother’s dying wish.
Larry’s mother, Carol, passed away from breast cancer in 2003, around the time that he was a star player at the University of Pittsburgh. Before she died, Carol made her son promise her that he would finish college.
“Education is one thing nobody can ever take from you,” Larry’s mother said to him, according to ESPN. “I know you have a passion to play ball, but education is something you can carry for the rest of your life.”
Carol’s dream was deferred when Larry left college early to enter the draft in 2004, but he never let go of the promise he made to his mom. Shortly after being drafted by the Cardinals, Larry enrolled at the University of Phoenix and tried to take classes whenever he could fit them into his hectic schedule.
Though it took over a decade, he has finally fulfilled his promise. Larry graduated on Saturday with a major in communications and a minor in marketing. “I wanted to make sure I was doing what I promised her I’d do,” he says. She would definitely be proud!
Source: ESPN