Getty Houston native Megan Thee Stallion.
Houston’s own Megan Thee Stallion had a huge weekend in the Texas city, celebrating her graduation from Texas Southern University on Saturday and then receiving the 18th Congressional District Humanitarian Award from Representative Sheila Jackson Lee on Sunday.
Megan Thee Stallion, born Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, grew up in Houston’s South Park neighborhood and then moved to Pearland when she was 14, according to Houstonia. She graduated from Pearland High School in 2013. A year later, while she was a student at Prairie View A&M University, her music career took off when she started posting freestyle rap videos on Instagram and elsewhere on social media, according to Essence.
Megan Thee Stallion left college to pursue her rap career, but returned to her studies at Texas Southern. On Saturday, December 11, 2021, she graduated with a bachelor of science degree in health administration from the Houston college. A day later, on Sunday, December 12, 2021, Jackson Lee honored the Grammy Award-winning rapper at a ceremony in Houston.
Jackson Lee tweeted, “Congratulations to @theestallion, the 2021 18th Congressional District Hero Award honoree! You are not only a source of inspiration for our community and all of your Hotgirls, you are a humanitarian that cares deeply about your city! As you said today, I love to see women lead!”
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Megan Thee Stallion Paid Tribute to Her Mother & Grandmother as She Graduated From Texas Southern University
Megan Thee Stallion posted photos from the graduation ceremony and the celebration afterward on her Instagram page, writing in the caption, “Still not over the fact that I can finally say I’m a college graduate 👏🏽 A HBCU COLLEGE GRADUATE 🐯Thank you to my friends and family for supporting me this whole time bc without y’all I would have lost my mind 😂” She tweeted, “#MeganTheeGraduate WE DID IT HOTTIES.”
She told Rolling Stone she wanted to graduate to honor her mother and grandmother, “The most challenging thing about college was definitely staying motivated to finish because I was going through so many things and sometimes I’ll just be like, man, forget all this. I just want to go hide in the corner. I’m stressed. But I still kept my mom and my grandmother at the back of my mind. Before they passed away, they saw me going to college and they were really hard on me about finishing college, so I was like, you know what? I’m not just doing it for myself, I’m doing it for them too. I want them to be so proud.”
She added about her post-graduation plans, “I’m still going to open up these assisted living facilities and I definitely want to hire new college graduates. Nobody ever wants to hire you fresh out of college. They feel like you have no experience, so I want to create a place where you can get experience.” She told Rolling Stone in 2019 she hoped to assisted living facilities in Houston and hoped her studies would help her achieve that goal.
Texas Southern, meanwhile, has launched Thee Megan Fund scholarship pool. The historically black university says on the fund’s page, “Welcome to the scholarship page in honor of TSU graduate Megan Pete aka ‘Megan Thee Stallion.’ Tax-deductible donations to this page will help other TSU students cross the finish line at graduation, just like Megan! Go Tigers!”
She Said About Houston During Her Speech After Receiving the Congressional District Award She Wants to ‘Take Care of the City That Took Care of Me’
One day after her graduation from Texas Southern University, Megan Thee Stallion received an award from Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. During the ceremony, Jackson Lee said, “This award has not been given out often. It has not been given out to many. That is why it remains a very special part of our congressional district. The district is almost a million people. The district has great history. So when this award is given, it has that special promise and special history.”
She added, “The Hero Award is wrapped up in humanitarianism. It means that you have exhibited humanity and you have helped without asking. … We are nothing in this nation if we don’t help our fellow brothers and sisters.”
While accepting the award, Megan Thee Stallion said she was “so honored,” and said feels like she has a “responsibility to take care of the city that took care of me.” She added, “My grandma always taught me to be kind and giving. I learned that from her. I was raised by very giving women. So I want to dedicate this award to my grandma because she taught me to be the woman I am today.”
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Houston’s Megan Thee Stallion Gets College Degree & Congressional Honor