Commencement ceremonies often play host to celebrities, politicians, businesspeople, and a wealth of other types of people who have managed to earn such a coveted spot. Agnes Scott hosted this year both a celebrity and businessperson (and possible rumored politician) when Oprah Winfrey came in town to celebrate graduation at Agnes Scott.
The ceremony, and a few others this year, is a particularly special one for Oprah. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls is a boarding school in South Africa. Started in 2007 with a boost of $40 million from Oprah, the school now has an approximate enrollment of 380 students who have come from difficult backgrounds (the South Africa version of “difficult background” having a different meaning than in the U.S.) and aims to provide opportunities for education and community leadership that otherwise might not be possible.
As of now, there are 179 girls from the school in college. Twenty of them have attended school in the U.S. and ten are graduating this year. One of them was graduating from Agnes Scott.
Starting out with her trademark way of sliding into a yell as she said “Class of 2017!”, the speech focused on truth and being true to yourself particularly. “If I could leave you with any message today that is it. The biggest reward is not financial benefits, though its really good, you can get a lot of great shoes. Nothing wrong with great shoes. But those of you who have a lot of shoes know that having great shoes, a closet full of shoes, or cars or houses, doesn’t fill up your life. It doesn’t. But living a life of substance can. Substance through your service. You’re offering up your whole self. And the baseline for how do you live a life of substance, is whatever is the truth for you. What do you stand for?”
She discussed some of her career, including her time on the Oprah Winfrey Show that made her a household name. It’s hard to believe, but the show being on nearly every day for multiple decades ended with Oprah having interviewed more than 37,000 people. The lesson she took away from that and hopes to be able to spread is compassion.
There was nearly zero political discussion but she did mention an event for her magazine last year following the election. The attendees were all women – half Hillary supports and half Trump supporters. In the beginning, everyone was skeptical but after two hours of discussion, the group was listening to each other, singing Diana Ross, exchanging phone numbers and emails. “I want you to work in your own way to change the world in respectful conversations with others,” said Oprah.
Agnes Scott President Elizabeth Kiss praised Oprah’s legacy. “We are educating our students to become global change agents who have the courage, compassion and commitment to make a difference in the world. Oprah Winfrey is a phenomenal model of leading a purpose-driven life with her impressive legacy of leadership, philanthropy and service. We are honored and thrilled to welcome her to our college to share an inspiring and empowering message with our 2017 graduates as they embark on the next stage of their life’s journey.”
To see the full speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2gSyrhJMo
