Sep 23, 2016 12:06 PM EDT By Jane Reed, UniversityHerald Reporter

Recently, Alicia Keys made it known that she is not going to wear make up to celebrate beauty in its natural form. And as a woman, she stood up for what she believed in.

But before she became a famous musician to go on and win 15 Grammy awards, she actually went to Columbia University, according to KR CR Tv. Although she is known as a successful American singer, pianist, record producer, song writer and actress, she didn't finish her degree at Columbia.

At a young age, she was already exposed to music and the acting industry. In 1985, she made a guest appearance at "The Cosby Show" when she was four years old. Afterwards, her mother had her enrolled to several music and dance classes. She then studied classical piano at seven years old.

She learned how to play classical songs from the likes of Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart. When she was 12 years old, she attended the Professional Performing Arts School. She graduated as the valedictorian of her class.

Even after class she was busy learning. She enrolled in an after-school program. A year later, she signed on as an artist for Columbia Records. But she was in a dilemma, because during that time she was also accepted at Columbia University. She tried her best to keep both, singing on the label and studying. But she could not keep up with the demands of school and the time in the studio. She dropped out of Columbia University after a month in order to pursue her musical career.

On her part, it was not a bad decision. To date, she has sold more than 35 million albums and won tons of Grammys and other awards. However, it is not known if she plans on going back to finish her degree.

Check out this video of Alicia Keys discussing about education:

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