Mark Wahlberg Visits T.C. Williams High School In Alexandria, Virginia

It's been a big week for celebrities in and around the nation's capital.

First we have M.C. Hammer eating grilled portobello sandwiches at The Hamilton and attending hockey games -- now Mark Wahlberg is in Northern Virginia, speaking at T.C. Williams High School.

The actor visited on Wednesday morning to encourage students to stay in school. The Washington Post reports that Wahlberg also brought up his own educational efforts:

The multimillionaire Hollywood producer, former rapper and model dropped out of high school in the ninth grade. The 41-year-old father of four is now pursing his diploma through an online credit recovery program.

“If my career goes south, I’m working at McDonald’s. I’m driving a tow truck,” he told the students. “That’s why I’m going back to high school.”

Patch, which has lots of photos from the event, reports that Wahlberg answered some student questions:

When asked who he admires, the 41-year-old Boston native said he reveres people devoted to others like teachers, police and first-responders, members of the military and clergy.

“People who go out there and work hard to provide for their family; the honest, hard-working individual,” he said. “A guy that takes pride in doing the right thing are the people I admire.”

Twitter captured enthusiasm toward Wahlberg's visit:

He may be HS dropout but his arms have advanced degree MT @delraypatch@mark_wahlberg at TC Williams HS this am bit.ly/11ktMy6

— Christine Matthews (@cmatthewspolls) April 24, 2013

One Patch commenter had a more tempered reaction:

The Washington Post reports that Wahlberg responded to that take at Wednesday's event.

“If you think about what I accomplished without a diploma," he said, "imagine what you can do with an education."