The former World's number 1 for women's tennis, Venus Williams, can now add her degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration to the list of her accomplishments.
Williams at 35 earned the degree, and it is not an honorary granted by the University of Indiana East to her.
In 2011, she enrolled in the online degree completion program and completed the courses this summer, the university released her last August 14. It was the first time Williams stepped into the Richmond campus to receive her diploma.
"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."
Apparently, Williams also earned an associate degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 2007.
With EleVen, a clothing line she owns and the other businesses she's into, she said the academic lessons and skills she learned form the course proved really helpful. She was able to handle her staff better and developed better strategies in running her business.
While in Richmond, she took the opportunity to tour the campus and made conversations with the students regarding the courses.She also met with the faculty, among which is Dean David Frantz, the Dean for the School of Business and Economics. They worked together since she enrolled in the online classes.
"Venus took concepts from the courses and tried them out in real life, and then she would want to learn more," Frantz said during the diploma presentation. "Venus had a certain openness to learning that we cannot teach and we celebrate. The drive and the tenacity that Venus shows on the tennis court, we saw in her studies."
The school is honored to have her in their list of alumni.
