Famous graduate from Univertity of Phoenix

May 7, 2010

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Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal, nicknamed "Shaq", is an American professional basketball player, rapper, actor, reserve police officer and a U.S. Deputy Marshal. He was born in March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey. His first two names mean "Little Warrior" in Arabic - but baby Shaq would grow up to become anything but little.

O'Neal attended Linton Middle School, where he first gained national attention. At the age of 13, Shaq was already 6'6" and a star basketball player at Cole High School in San Antonio, Texas.

His biological father Joseph Toney of Newark has surrendered his parental rights to O'Neal's stepfather, Phillip A. Harrison an Army sergeant. Shaq and Joseph Toney have never spoken, and Shaq has expressed no interest in reconciliation.

With O'Neal's stepfather stationed on a U.S. Army base at Wildflecken, West Germany, O'Neal attended Fulda American High School, a Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) school.

After graduating from high school, Shaquille O'Neal was more than seven feet tall by the time he headed to Louisiana &#&State University&#&, where he studied business, besides obtaining spectacular sport's goals.O'Neal improved considerably, becoming &#&college basketball's&#& dominant player. O'Neal left LSU early to pursue his NBA career. However, he promised his mother he would eventually return to his studies and complete his Bachelor's of Arts in General Studies degree. He fulfilled that promise in 2000. At the ceremony, he told the crowd "now I can go and get a real job". He was later inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame.

Years later, O'Neal spent more than a year taking online classes and doing online work. He earned a Master's Degree in Business Administration through the online &#&University of Phoenix&#& &#&Business Scholl&#& in 2005. The, by that time, Miami Heat center was perhaps the most famous and certainly the tallest of the 2,200 people receiving degrees from the &#&University of Phoenix&#&.

Since 1992, Shaquille O'Neal has played for 4 NBA teams: the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Miami Heat, and the Phoenix Suns. Shaq is also one of the few NBA players in history to reach the NBA Finals with three different teams. His charisma on and off the court helped create a worldwide reputation as "Godfather of the NBA."

Ranging from donations to charities and organizations across the country to working as a reserve police officer in Los Angeles, Miami, and Phoenix, Shaq has made public service a priority in his life.

Also, O'Neal has maintained a high level of interest in the workings of the police department and has become personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the L.A. Port Police.