Mark Wahlberg graduates high school, 25 years after dropping out

Actor Mark Wahlberg attends the premiere of "Two Guns" on Monday, July 29, 2013, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP

BOSTON -- Mark Wahlberg is now a high school graduate -- 25 years after dropping out of a Boston high school.

The 42-year-old actor-producer finished his diploma requirements after taking classes online. He dropped out of Copley Square High School, now known as Snowden International School at Copley, in the ninth grade.

Wahlberg wrote of the struggles he faced growing up surrounded by "drugs, violence and crime" in a column in The Huffington Post on Monday. He says he's been taking classes and studying while on movie sets, travelling and at home.

In June 2012, Wahlberg announced he was going back to school with the help of Snowden headmaster Kerry Torndorf, who enrolled Wahlberg in his school's Accelerated Learning Academy.

Cara Livermore, the current headmaster, said it took Wahlberg about a year to finish all of his courses online.

"He worked hard," she said.

In April, shortly after the Boston Marathon bombings, which happened nearby, he visited the school and asked to talk with students privately for a few minutes. Livermore said he really wanted to make a connection and talked to them about valuing the opportunities they have.

"It shows that he cares where he comes from, that he took the time to come back and visit the school," she said.