Mark Wahlberg earns high school diploma [View all]

Source: USA Today

Working to complete his remaining high school credits was "humbling and challenging," he says.

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Actor and producer Mark Wahlberg, 42, shared in a Huffington Post op-ed Monday that he is officially a high school graduate after working to complete remaining credits over the past year.

Wahlberg, who previously had not advanced past the ninth grade before dropping out as a teen, wrote that he worked on his classes "any chance I could get — on the set, traveling for work and at home," completing his diploma this summer.

Empowering teens is a personal mission for the star, whose Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation has teamed up with organizations such as the Taco Bell Foundation for Teens and its Graduate for Más program, which provides "tools, support and community" for students to stay on track with their education — resources he says he wishes he had had access to.

Wahlberg also uses the op-ed to make a plea for a greater focus on education: "It shouldn't take luck for people to be able to access the education they need to help overcome life's obstacles. Investment in education is a no-brainer in promoting personal and career growth and supporting our economic recovery."

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Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/09/17/mark-wahlberg-earns-high-school-diploma/2824899/