Meg Thee Stallion...Thee College Graduate?
Megan Thee Stallion, with the given name Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, is preparing to receive a bachelor’s degree from Texas Southern University (TSU) in Health Administration on December 11.
The 26-year-old Grammy-winning rapper began her college career in 2013 at Prairie View A&M University, but once her rap career began to take off, she transferred to TSU as a part-time student completing online courses, while simultaneously owning the rap industry.
She told sources that her motivation to earn a degree stems from her mother, Holly Thomas, who passed away in March of 2019.
“I want to get my degree because I really want my mom to be proud,” Stallion says. “She saw me going to school before she passed.”
Stallion released her first rap song, “Neva,” in 2018, but she didn’t rise to fame until she released her first song to hit the Billboard Charts, “Big Ole Freak.” From there, things only went up.
She continued to create music that dominated the Billboard Charts, and eventually won a Grammy award for her 2021 duet with Beyonce: “Savage.”
Often, rappers do not get the best reputation as role models for younger individuals. Many are stigmatized for braggadocious attitudes towards the party lifestyle, sexual promiscuity, and recreational alcohol and drug use. For example, female rapper, Cardi B, is notorious for her obscene quotes, one of the most notable being, “Ever since I started using guys, I feel so powerful.”
Quotes like these create a negative perception that females are only worth what guys they can be with. This causes the female empowerment movement to head backwards rather than forwards.
Megan Thee Stallion is often put on the same “fame level” as Cardi B, and their duet “WAP” connected the two further. However, Stallion continues to promote how excited she is to graduate and how important an education is to her. She posted on her Instagram account, which has amassed over 26 million followers, a slideshow of posts of her posing in front of the TSU letters on campus and announcing her graduation and graduation party date!
No celebrity is perfect. Every move that they make is often documented and posted for the world to see and input their opinions upon. Like everyone, Megan Thee Stallion has her ups and downs, but her emphasis on the importance of higher education is inspiring to all.
For women who are planning to graduate from Elon University, Megan Thee Stallion is a woman to look up to.