Arie's Education Took A Backseat To Racing

New Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. is perhaps best known for two things: being a former race car driver, and having his heart broken by Emily Maynard. Both were undoubtedly major parts of his adult life, but who was Arie before he went after his professional driving dreams and tried to find love on TV? Where did The Bachelor's Arie go to school? The reality star has actually lived a pretty fascinating life.

Arie was born in the Netherlands, where his parents are from (including the his father Arie Luyendyk Sr., a two-time Indy 500 winner), but the Luyendyks immigrated to the United States when he was still a toddler. He grew up in Arizona, where he still resides and works as a real estate agent. It's also where he went to high school, first attending Chaparral High School and then transferring to Desert Mountain High School (both in Scottsdale) when he was a sophomore. But even though he was still a teenager, racing quickly become the Arie's passion. Apparently, he even eschewed partying — not so he could focus on school, but so he could focus on his career.

According to an interview with North Valley Magazine, Arie got behind the wheel for the first time when he was 14 years old and it seems to have been love at first sight. Though his father was also a race car driver, it was Arie's grandfather who encouraged him early on to take part in the family business. "My grandfather put me in a race care for the first time, without my dad knowing," Arie told North Valley Magazine. "That's really when I got the bug and wanted to pursue racing."

By the time Arie was 16, he was already participating in races, specifically the Formula Ford competition with the Sports Car Club of America. He took part in a number of junior races, balancing his burgeoning career with his schoolwork. Since he already knew what he wanted to do, it seems like Arie did not attend college, instead throwing himself into racing full time. It's not something one needs a college degree for, so that didn't make a difference.

He competed in the Indy Lights series for eight years starting in 2002, winning once and ranking second, third, and fourth at other races. Arie spent the majority of his adult life taking part in different races and chasing those dreams, though he did eventually seek a second job back home in Arizona. Now working as a real estate agent with RE/MAX Excalibur is his primary source of income, though he still makes time for racing. Real estate is another job that doesn't require a college degree; instead, you have to undergo some education (which depends on the state) and pass an exam to receive your license.

It's unclear where Arie acquired his real estate-related education, but it seems like he made the right choice for him when it came to settling on a career. "I think the great thing about real estate is you can do it anywhere," Arie told Variety, adding:

You can get license anywhere. It's just about growing your sphere and really knowing your area. I love Scottsdale. I love being in real estate. I did over $13 million in sales this year and it's so much fun. But it is something that I'm open to as far as moving to another place and doing that same — pursuing that same career.

Arie appears to be happy with the way his life turned out, professionally speaking, and he hasn't suffered for lack of a college education. Of course, he also comes from a privileged background that likely allowed him a certain amount of security to go after his goals. It's certainly easier to break into race car driving when your father has already made a smashing success of it.

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