“I’ve had a lot of big dreams in my life, but not even I dreamnt that I could one day become a doctor,” Houston Texans star and humanitarian J.J. Watt wrote on his Twitter account earlier this week. “I am truly humbled and honored to receive the degree of Doctor of Humanities in Medicine from the Baylor College of Medicine!”
In a photo that he shared on his social platforms Tuesday, Watt and his girlfriend Kealia Ohai of the Houston Dash soccer team were all smiles as Watt wore a commencement cap and gown and held his latest honor.
Usually it’s Watt putting smiles on other peoples’ faces.
According to a press release from Baylor, Watt received the award which is given to those who have “provided exceptional support or service directly or indirectly to Baylor or to academic medicine as a whole and to the community at large.”
Now usually, the closest Watt gets to medicine is the Advil prescribed to opposing quarterbacks after the defensive end sacks them. But his newest honor is absolutely linked to all the work he does off the football field.
His degree comes just months after he earned the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year with Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve and the NFL’s Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award.
In his speech, Watt, who raised more than $37 million for Hurrican Harvey relief after setting an initial goal of $200,000, urged the students to use that same type of energy in their medical careers.
“What I challenge you to do is to help bring out that inherent good in everyone around you,” he said to the medical students graduating. “Help be that positive light. Help be that person that everybody else wants to be around, and help be that energy that takes this world into an even better place.
In my opinion, Watt is the epitome of positive light.
