19 Scholars Willing To Risk It All For Education

at .  Updated at .

If only summer vacation could last forever.

Unfortunately, Labor Day is in the rearview mirror, and we're back in school. Even if your school days ended years ago, when September comes around, you still feel the back to school dread.

All the pumpkin-flavored treats in the world can't make us forget the grief and anguish school causes.

Related: Get HBO via Prime Video Channels for Addictive Dramas, Hilarious Comedies & Hit Movies! 

First, comes the lecturing, then comes the mountains of homework, and it leads to your head exploding during an exam. Why do we endure this?

Well here are some of television's finest scholars ready to remind us that getting an education is worth everything because knowledge can save the world and ourselves.

1. Samwell Tarly - Game of Thrones

Samwell Tarly knows his best weapon to bring to the game is his brain. Hoping the realm's only institution of higher education will provide useful knowledge against the Whitewalkers, Sam risks journeying through war-torn Westeros and a confrontation with his abusive father in order to make his way to the Citadel.

2. Rory Gilmore - Gilmore Girls

Rory Gilmore's acceptance into Chilton seemed like a dream come true. Then came Headmaster Charleston's certainty she would fail, Paris Gellar's enmity, and an attack from a deer. Despite the adversity, Rory won over the headmaster, established a lifelong friendship with Paris, and graduated at the top of her class without any further reprisals from wild animals.

3. The Keating 5 - How to Get Away with Murder

Law school is cutthroat. How do the Keating 5 stay ahead of the competition? The answer is simple. They listen to the advice of Professor Annalise Keating and get away with murder.

4. Pacey Witter - Dawson's Creek

Pacey Witter never cared much for academics. What he cared about was his friends and knew they deserved better from Capeside High. So if you need someone to take charge of a last-ditch, last-minute study session, beat up the perpetrator who vandalized your school mural, rally people to save your principal, and stand up against homophobic teaches -- Pacey Witter is your guy.

5. Michael Burnham - Star Trek: Discovery

Growing up on a planet where everyone was stronger, smarter, and more logical than you couldn't have been easy. Michael Burnham endured all of that and remained determined to belong to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group. Although her denial was still an open wound years later, she didn't let it stop her from advancing her scientific career.

6. The Scoobies - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

If your school was sitting on top of a Hellmouth, would you be sticking around for math class? The Scoobies did. Despite knowing a demon could kill them at any minute, they stayed in school. This proves a diploma from Sunnydale High really means something.

7. Barry Berkman - Barry

Barry Berkman knew his life as a hitman was empty. Salvation came from a least likely source -- acting class. Now that Barry has a purpose again, he'll kill to keep it.

8. Katara - Avatar: The Last Airbender

If she was going to honor her mother's sacrifice, bring back a vital part of the Southern Water Tribe's culture and help the Avatar save the world, Katara needed to master waterbending. Nothing would stop her: not pirates, not sexism, and not even the Fire Nation Armada.

9. New Directions - Glee

The bullying, the interpersonal drama, Coach Sue Sylvester's dastardly schemes -- New Directions kept on singing throughout it all. Their commitment paid off because each of them made their dreams come true. They also -- in an era where schools are constantly cutting arts programs -- ensured that future students would get a chance to sing for generations to come.

10. Frasier and Niles Crane - Frasier

The Crane brothers were often insufferable snobs, but their love for education was endearing. When they heard their high school was closing down, the brothers did what they did best -- come up with a plan that will inevitably backfire. It all worked out though -- for the school at least.

11. Alex Dunphy - Modern Family

Alex Dunphy defines herself as the smart one. As she showed her poor, defenseless, birthday cake, she will push herself to the brink of insanity before letting her academic career slip. When she got older she got better about having a life outside her textbooks -- though she's never going to give up being the brainy one in the Dunphy-Pritchett clan.

12. Nog - Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Nog refused to accept his fate of becoming yet another joke Ferengi character. In one of DS9's most gut-wrenching moments, he told then Cmdr. Sisko that he did not want to wind up with nothing like his father. Instead, he wanted to do something worthwhile with his life and join Starfleet even if that meant going against Ferengi traditions and his Uncle Quark.

13. Dr. Cristina Yang - Grey's Anatomy

Dr. Cristina Yang was destined to be the best cardiothoracic surgeon. However, greatness always has a price. In the face of being fired, losing her lover, and leaving behind everyone she loved, Cristina never hesitated to sacrifice the personal in order to become the cardio goddess we mere mortals stand in awe of.

14. Bay Kennish and Daphne Vasquez - Switched at Birth

To take back Carlton, Bay and Daphne pulled a fire alarm, made their parents worry, faced pressure from the school board, and the police were circling in on them. The most devastating blows were the fractures forming among friends as opinions about Carlton's future differed. In spite of it all, Daphne, Bay, and their friends made sure the world heard they weren't giving up on the one school that accepted them.

15. Leonard Hoffsteader - The Big Bang Theory

Universities rely on donations, but people don't like opening up their wallets. Good thing Leonard Hoffsteader is on hand to solve this problem. His combination of smarts, determination, and unique brand of Hoffsteader charm won over a seemingly impossible to please donor. This accomplishment was so great, Leonard earned the unimaginable -- Sheldon's approval.

16. Lisa Simpson - The Simpsons

Lisa Simpson constantly has to defend her right to learn. One of the most memorable instances involved Lisa enrolling at the Rommelwood Military School. Even though she was receiving a better education, the other cadets refused to accept her. No matter how hard they tried to drive her out, Lisa still earned a medal for "Satisfactory Completion of the Second Grade."

17. Eleanor Shellstrop - The Good Place

Eleanor Shellstrop may not have been the nicest or most ethical person. However, with her options limited to suffer eternal torment or learn philosophy in order to become worthy of entry into The Good Place, she opts for the latter. Even with The Bad Place bureaucracy trying to bring her down, Eleanor keeps learning. She's reading for fun now.

18. The Southside Serpents - Riverdale

It would have been easy for the Southside Serpents to take Hiram Lodge's bribes and walk away. Instead, they chose to go hungry, put themselves in conflict with friends, and chained themselves to Southside High. Even though they couldn't save the school, they still showed Riverdale they had a right to learn and a right to be part of the community.

19. Greendale Human Beings - Community

Greendale isn't a great place for education because it has a brilliant faculty teaching an amazing curriculum at a state of the art campus. No, Greendale is great because it gives everyone the opportunity to better. This is why -- even when Greendale is threatened with paintball wars, Chang's dictatorship, or being sold to Subway -- the Greendale Human Beings will always risk it all to save their school.

Wait! There's more! Just click "Next" below:

Next
Show Comments
Tags:
Multi-Show, Photo Galleries
Shows:
Game of Thrones, Gilmore Girls, How to Get Away with Murder, Dawson's Creek, Barry, Glee, Modern Family, Grey's Anatomy, Switched at Birth, The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons, The Good Place, Riverdale, Community
Networks:
NBC, CBS
Related Photos:
Multi-Show Slideshows, Photo Galleries Slideshows, Game of Thrones Slideshows, Gilmore Girls Slideshows, How to Get Away with Murder Slideshows, Dawson's Creek Slideshows, Barry Slideshows, Glee Slideshows, NBC Slideshows, Modern Family Slideshows, CBS Slideshows, Grey's Anatomy Slideshows, Switched at Birth Slideshows, TBBT Slideshows, The Simpsons Slideshows, The Good Place Slideshows, Riverdale Slideshows, Community Slideshows
Related Post:
Created by:
Published:
Modified: