Will.i.am is officially a Harvard University graduate!

As AFROTECH™ previously reported, the Black Eyed Peas member and founder of the tech platform FYI (Focus Your Ideas) enrolled in Harvard Business School and had his own dorm.

“One year I woke up, and I’m like, ‘I wanna go to Harvard,’” Will.i.am explained on the “Jennifer Hudson Show.” “I’m doing all of this business stuff, and I wanna make sure that I’m not just taking advantage of success and not disciplining myself to have further success.”

Will.i.am’s interest in college was also inspired by “A Different World,” a staple television show within the Black community that championed education and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

“I always liked watch #aDifferentWorld growing up…and when I was in the projects I never thought I would attend a college like @harvardhbs…being in Boston going to Harvard business school is a different world from where I come from…and I’m still dreaming and dreaming of even bigger worlds to manifest into reality…let’s go!!! #FYI BIG things are coming,” he wrote on Instagram in 2022.

Photo Credit: Instagram/ iamwill

Will.i.am had not previously attended college or ever graced a commencement stage as a student. He had received a record deal while still in high school and transitioned into the music industry full-time.

“I didn’t graduate on stage from high school,” he explained on the “Jennifer Hudson Show.” “In high school I had a record deal and I started slacking off in school. My mom was like ‘Boy you need to get them grades up.’ I’m like ‘I got a job.’ She was like ‘Boy you need to get them grades up.’ I was like ‘I’m just not getting paid yet, but I have a job,’ and I didn’t graduate on stage. I went to my best friend’s graduation to see him graduate, because he had only been in America for four years, and that best friend is the guy that I started Black Eyed Peas with, apl.de.ap.” 
Now, decades later, will.i.am has finally graced the halls of higher learning in a different way. According to an Instagram post shared on his page, will.i.am had joined the Harvard Executive Education’s Owner/President Management Program.
Participants benefit from skills that encompass strategy development, financial management, team building, and negotiation, its website mentions.

“Owner/President Management (OPM) provides a transformative and supportive environment where they can step back from daily operations and learn how to become a more effective leader, deliver greater value to stakeholders, and ensure further success for themselves and their companies,” a description of the program reads.

It appears will.i.am has officially reached the finish line, announcing his completion of the program on Oct. 25, 2024.

“It’s been three years. So I’m super excited about that,” he mentioned in an Instagram video.