Oprah visits NC school to honor Leadership Academy student

ELON, N.C. (AP) – Oprah Winfrey is making good on her promise to be with students from her Leadership Academy for Girls as they graduate from college.

Winfrey had a front-row seat for Friday’s baccalaureate ceremony at Elon University in North Carolina to see Nosipho Shangase, who was set to graduate on Saturday with a bachelor’s degree in public health studies.

Shangase called Winfrey “a great mentor” and “a source of support, not just financially but also mentally and emotionally” during her time at Elon, a small, private college 62 miles (99 km) west of Raleigh.

Winfrey said Shangese overcame “multiple adversities, pain and loss” and that getting her degree from Elon will be “a victory walk” across the stage.

Shangese will pursue a master’s degree in epidemiology at UNC-Chapel Hill.

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