Retired NHLer challenged by UFC legend Georges St. Pierre to graduate high school 22 years after dropping out

Former NHLer Steve Begin didn’t have to go back to school. He earned nearly $7 million over the course of his 14 year NHL career and afforded himself the luxury of retiring in relative ease in his late 30s. Begin played 524 games in the NHL between 1997-2013 and scored 56 goals and 108 points with the Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins and Nashville Predators. He owns an engineering company. In short, he’s a made made.

But Begin always felt like he had some unfinished business… he wanted his high school diploma.

"I have been lucky despite my less-than-intelligent decision to drop school," Begin acknowledged at the ceremony. "I fulfilled my dreams. I succeeded in life. I have a super family. I have a company. Everything is going well — but I always knew something was missing."

Well… it took 22 years but Steve Begin is now officially a high school graduate. Begin took online courses after being challenged by close friend and UFC legend Georges St. Pierre to finish what he started. St. Pierre is the spokesman for ChallengeU, the program that Begin enlisted in to complete his secondary education.

"I studied early in the morning and late at night," Begin said. "I wanted to be ready. I was nervous like during a playoff game. I put in maximum effort, because I really wanted to be ready and not to fail."

Kudos to you, Mr. Begin. It takes a lot of humility to go back and finish what you started, especially at this stage in your life.