Anthony Anderson graduates college: '30 years in the making'

After a three-decade delay imposed first by financial issues and then by a flourishing comedy career, Anthony Anderson on Saturday finally graduated from Howard University.

"Words can't begin to describe the emotional roller coaster I'm on right now. It's literally been 30 years in the making," the "Black-ish" and "Law & Order" star, 51, wrote on Instagram, posting images of himself in cap and gown at the graduation ceremony in Washington, D.C. "This spring I was finally able to complete the work to graduate from Howard University with a BFA degree from the Chadwick A Boseman College of Fine Arts! Yesterday was a full circle moment. It's never too late! Things happen when they're supposed to happen!"

He went on to thank university president Dr. Wayne Frederick and others including Tony Award-winning and five-time Emmy-nominated actor Phylicia Rashad, the dean of Boseman College. He additionally thanked his son Nathan, the younger of his two children with his estranged wife Alvina Anderson, "for inspiring me to return to school to finish my degree after he was accepted into Howard University." Nathan Anderson, whom Anthony Anderson previously noted had since left the school, posted an Instagram photo of his father amid a jubilant crowd of graduates.