April 21, 2026
Todd Owyoung/NBC
'Abbott Elementary' star Quinta Brunson tells Jimmy Fallon about her decision to drop out of Temple University and why she didn't tell her mom.
Quinta Brunson plays an educator on television, but the "Abbott Elementary" star never finished her degree at Temple University. Because Brunson knew it would be difficult to tell her mom, a teacher, that she had dropped out, she decided not to tell her at all.
"That's the way you do that, you kind of slow roll it," Brunson said during an appearance Monday on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon." "I said, 'You know, Mom, I love school so much, I need to take a semester off to focus on paying for it so that you and Dad don't have to pay for it.' And the thing was, I kind of meant that at the time."
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Brunson said she lasted about two years at Temple before she dropped out. During that time, she worked on "Temple SMASH," the student comedy show on Temple University Television.
"I was doing well though. Well, I was doing well until I wasn't," Brunson said. "But when I wasn't, it was more of a choice, you know? I was like 'All right, I'm not into this anymore.'"
After taking the semester off, Brunson said she told her mom that she wanted to move and enroll at UCLA, saying she wanted a new environment. Brunson said she kind of meant that, too, but she only ended up taking improv classes.
Fallon asked her about her time at Temple after noting that they both had honorary degrees from schools they had dropped out of.
Brunson received her honorary degree in 2024, which she said was a little later than she expected. At the time, Brunson said, she thought she would get an honorary degree from "another better school," which she declined to name, before she got one from Temple.
Brunson appeared on "The Tonight Show" ahead of the "Abbott Elementary" season finale, which airs Wednesday.
She offered a brief sneak peek into the two-part finale, which follows the cast on a trip to Miami for a teachers conference. Brunson said there will be "real-life stuff happening in there taken from the headlines." She said fans can catch a familiar face on the screen, too.
"We have one of my favorite guest stars who — I love the Eagles, it's another Eagle, I'm sorry. But another Eagle will be joining us," Brunson said. "I'm not going to stop until I have the whole entire team."
Watch her full interview below.
