Oprah Winfrey made a surprise visit to Morehouse College on Friday to host an intimate send-off for graduating seniors in the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program.
The historically Black men’s liberal arts college shared a carousel on Instagram featuring Winfrey alongside graduating seniors and school officials, as well as moments from the event.
“Ms. @Oprah Winfrey returned to The House to check in on her scholars before they entered the next chapter of their lives. In an intimate talkback session, she shared her wisdom, candor, and joy with all in the room, putting the battery pack in the back of our students (and everyone in attendance) to move forward with the assurance of who they are, how they’ve been prepared for success, and a resilient mindset braced to overcome any challenges,” Morehouse College wrote in the post’s caption.
“The evening was a powerful reminder of the infinite impact that can be made when you walk in alignment to your purpose while in service to the betterment of humanity,” the college added.
Winfrey launched The Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program in 1989 and has since provided financial support, leadership development experiences, and service opportunities to Morehouse students with demonstrated financial need and a commitment to community service, including a summer trip to South Africa, according to the school’s website.
Winfrey is the school’s biggest scholarship donor and has provided funding for the institution in recent years. During the program’s 30th anniversary in 2019, the media mogul donated $13 million to the scholarship fund, per TheGrio.
“I was really surprised to learn that it has been 30 years since I made that $12 million donation to Morehouse, Winfrey said at a ceremony honoring students in the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program. “So today, I would like to add $13 million to that.”
She later shared details about the event in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, which included a video of Morehouse students presenting her with red roses.
“Spent a day marinating in black excellence with these gorgeous, promising, young men at @Morehouse. They honored me with roses, a song, and a portrait for a scholarship fund I set up 30 years ago. Can’t wait to see what they do with their future,” Winfrey wrote.
In total, Winfrey has donated $25 million, which is the largest in the school’s history. Morehouse showed their appreciation by having two large paintings of her at the school.
