NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was the keynote speaker for the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts Open Book Celebration held April 25 at the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock.
Abdul-Jabbar spoke about the importance of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education during the evening event. He also held a 45-minute question-and-answer session during which Abdul-Jabbar answered questions on education, his basketball career and his young life.
That morning, Abdul-Jabbar also spoke to ASMSA students and ninth-graders from each Garland County high school at Hot Springs High School. Abdul-Jabbar encouraged the students to start thinking now about the education they need in order to change the world in the future. He stressed that there are only so many jobs available in sports and entertainment while there many jobs related to science and math. He also held a question-and-answer session for the students, answering such questions as what inspired him as a youth, among others.
To view photos from both the Open Book Celebration and the ninth-grader STEM, visit the Open Book Celebration photo album at http://asmsa.me/ZUoIiN.