With University students in the United States and Canada graduating this month, there has been a significant uptick in the number of honorary doctorates that have been handed out. For instance, Coach K of Quality Control received one last weekend and on Sunday, Charlamagne Tha God received his very own doctorate, as well. Now, Toronto Raptors superstar Kyle Lowry has been given his own Doctorate of Humanities from Acadia University which is in the province of Nova Scotia.
The University says Lowry was given the degree due to his commitment to Canada over the years and how he rallied the country during the Raptors championship run. Lowry and his wife Ayahna also founded the Lowry Love Foundation which also played a role in the degree.
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“I’m a kid from North Philadelphia, one of the toughest places in America to grow up. And I’m going to be honest with you, according to the statistics, I shouldn’t be here with you today,” Lowry said in his speech. “I grew up in a rowhouse in 20th and Lehigh with me, my mom, my brother, my grandmom, and my cousin. A place where you needed to be in the house when the streetlights came on just to avoid the gangs, the drugs, the shooting, and all the violence that went on. Basically, the hood. Over the time, I had to slowly learn how to adapt and adjust in my way of thinking to allow other people to help me.”
This is a tremendous achievement for Lowry who is certainly the franchise’s best player. When all is said and done, Lowry’s jersey will be hanging from the rafters, and he’ll have all of the fans calling him Doctor.