Oprah Winfrey is celebrating an “extra special” graduation!
Among the hundreds of students who graced Stanford University’s commencement ceremony at Stanford Stadium on Sunday, June 16, was Bongeka Zuma, who previously attended the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa.
On Sunday, Zuma graduated from Stanford as a doctor of medicine. The next day, Winfrey paid tribute to her success.
“One of the greatest joys of my life was seeing her walk that stage! Knowing where she came from, a small community in KwaZulu-Natal and how strongly she believed in becoming a doctor,” Winfrey captioned an Instagram post featuring a slideshow of videos and photos from the special day.
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Zuma was in the first graduating class of the Winfrey boarding school, which opened in 2007. Today. Only 152 out of more than 3,000 candidates were accepted then.
Zuma first graduated summa cum laude from Spelman College in Georgia and later earned a master’s degree from Oxford University in England, according to Winfrey’s post.
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Winfrey said she attended 22 different graduations “for all my daughter-girlfriends that came from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy,” but noted that this one in particular “was extra special.”
“She never gave up,” the philanthropist wrote, “and with the support of good friends, fellow OWLAG sisters and professors, we all celebrated her success with great pride. Congratulations, Dr. Zuma. Well done! Well done!”
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Oprah on her medical degree at Stanford.
Oprah/Instagram
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2019, Winfrey said the motivation behind her boarding school was to “build a school for girls who are like me.” She also said the girls who attended the school were “my greatest, greatest joy.”
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“They are the daughters I didn’t have,” said the former talk show host at the time. “I never thought that maternal instinct was something for me. I love babies, but I like them like, ‘Hi baby, good, now go there.’ ”
She added: “I love children when they can talk to me and tell me what the problem is. This is how having children was supposed to manifest for me.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education