Author: Nola Jones

The young person quietly seated in the front row was never Ryan Reynolds. Reynolds had already been expelled from one school, transferred to another, briefly enrolled in college, and then completely abandoned formal education to pursue an uncertain path by the time most teenagers were calculating their GPA. In many respects, his educational background is more intriguing and messy than the polished image he subsequently developed. Reynolds was raised in a working-class family in Vancouver, British Columbia, as the youngest of four brothers. His mother worked in retail, and his father had been a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted…

Growing up in Reno, Nevada, Brandon Aiyuk attended Robert McQueen High School, where his football skills eventually caught the attention of NFL scouts. As a senior, he returned kicks, played wide receiver and defensive back, and was named to the first team of Northern Nevada. The football piece was functioning by most standards. The discussion in the classroom was completely different. The academic aspect of Aiyuk’s story is often overlooked when discussing his ascent, so it’s worth taking a moment to consider that. His grades simply fell short of Division I eligibility requirements after graduating from McQueen. It’s the kind…

Every time someone discusses Jessica Alba, something is missed. Almost invariably, the topic of Dark Angel, the Honest Company, or magazine covers comes up first. Seldom does anyone take the time to inquire about how she truly got there, what her educational background was, and why it didn’t resemble what most people would anticipate from someone who built such a large life. Born in Pomona, California, in 1981, Jessica Alba moved around a lot as a child due to her father’s work in the Air Force. By the time she was nine, she had moved to Mississippi, Texas, and finally…

Some football players have their academic backgrounds neatly packaged, complete with degrees from universities, coaching credentials, and the occasional stint at a business school tucked away in their biographies. One of those football players is not Lucas Trejo. The paper trail of formal education simply doesn’t exist in any public record for a man who has lived in Greece, Argentina, the United States, and Venezuela for almost twenty years. However, it’s difficult to deny that the game itself has thoroughly and frequently brutally educated him. Trejo was born in Córdoba, Argentina, on December 29, 1987, and grew up in a…

The fact that one of the most significant pop stars of the last ten years graduated from a mid-sized comprehensive school in a small Cheshire village is subtly intriguing. No prestigious arts school. No stage school with singing coaches and shiny hallways. Harry Styles attended Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, where he sat in regular classrooms, most likely daydreamed through some lessons, and eventually made his way to a microphone through a school band instead of an official music program. For a boy growing up in the English Midlands, Harry Styles’ educational path was rather typical. He was born in 1994…

The fact that one of the most influential technologists alive, Larry Page, grew up in a home that, in his own words, resembled a controlled explosion at a university library is subtly telling. There are computers everywhere. Stacks of science magazines on surfaces. A mother who taught programming, and a father with a PhD in computer science. The actual education may have started long before any enrollment paperwork was completed. Page was born in 1973 in Lansing, Michigan, and from a young age, his surroundings were more of a low-key laboratory than a childhood home. His father brought home an…

Some American success stories are overlooked in favor of the polished, credentialed ones. Among them is Alan Jackson. Jackson, who was born in Newnan, Georgia, on October 17, 1958, did not graduate from a prominent liberal arts college or music conservatory with a degree in songwriting. After graduating from Newnan High School, he joined the local band Dixie Steel and started working as a construction worker, forklift operator, and weekend performer at small clubs. In the truest sense of the word, that was his education. It’s simple to undervalue the true lessons that such an upbringing imparts. Your perspective of…

Blake Lively has an almost paradoxical quality. She portrays elegant, poised women who appear to have everything figured out. Her own educational journey, however, is less of a straight line and more of an improvised one, shaped by timing, industry, and a family that was constantly too busy to stay put. Before completing high school, Lively attended an astounding thirteen different schools. When people hear that number alone, they often pause in the middle of their sentences. The constant re-entry into new social environments, the need to quickly adapt, the need to read rooms, and the need to become fluent…

Some resources don’t make a big deal out of themselves. It doesn’t receive feature spreads in major sports publications or press conferences. Nevertheless, it gradually becomes indispensable—the kind of thing that, once you realize it exists, makes you question how anyone could have survived without it. One such resource is the U.S. Soccer Learning Center. The platform is essentially a learning management system designed to house all of U.S. Soccer’s educational initiatives in one location. Everything is available behind a login screen at learning.ussoccer.com, including coaching curricula, referee education, and performance and health advice. Joining is free. reachable from any…

One of those actors that people seem to already know is Joe Keery. Perhaps it’s the hair. Perhaps it’s the affection he shows Steve Harrington on Stranger Things. Beneath the familiarity of popular culture, however, lies a fairly simple tale of a young man from a small Massachusetts town who took his education seriously, found a theater program that fit him, and made his way into a field that seldom accepts newcomers. He was the second of five children born in April 1992 in Newburyport, Massachusetts. It’s a peaceful seaside town to the north of Boston, where extracurricular activities are…