It's graduation day for thousands of college students in the Capital Region. 

For one graduate, the walk across the stage was nine years in the making.

Kingston native Tay Fisher has spent almost a decade as member of the Harlem Globetrotters after his undergraduate career at Siena. 

Saturday, he celebrated earning his Masters in education, with a walk across the St. Rose stage.   

This year with his mother in attendence, Fisher was finally able to make a memory both he and his mom have been waiting for.

"Oh man there's just a lot going on. I worked hard for this. It took nine years to complete this degree," said Fisher. "I'm at a loss for words. I've been on the Harlem Globetrotters for nine years, going on ten. Ever since then I've been working hard at this and I'm happy that I'm able to do this in front of my mom, right before Mother's Day."

Fisher has been using his status to give back to the community for years, even running a youth basketball camp to pass on his knowledge of the game.