Kendrick Lamar took on a one-day gig as principal of Mount Pleasant High School in Providence, Rhode Island yesterday. The event was part of a recurring “Celebrity Principal for the Day” program coordinated by Get Schooled, a non-profit organization founded in 2010 with goals to “use the media and messengers of popular culture to inspire and engage students in an effort to improve high school graduation rates and empower more students to go to and succeed in college.” Kendrick spoke to almost 1,000 students, encouraging them to take their studies seriously. “Without education you don’t have anything,” he told them, according to Rap-Up. “My teachers were great positive influences in my life. My middle school English teacher was probably the reason I became a rapper. He used to encourage me to write poetry and would challenge me, which helped me improve my vocabulary and made me enjoy writing.” Check out a video documenting his visit below.