Oprah Winfrey said she did not receive a diploma from the institution when she enrolled there in 1975.
She said this while speaking during the graduation ceremony for the class of 2023 at Tennessee State University.
The media mogul revealed to the graduating class on May 6 that before her career in broadcast journalism took off, she was just one credit away from receiving her degree.
According to the Associated Press, Winfrey informed students that it would be ten years before she returned to get her degree.
When repeatedly asked, “When will you get that degree?” Winfrey said as she continued the anecdotal story about how her father encouraged her to complete the studies she had started at TSU.
Winfrey didn’t graduate from the historically Black college and university in Nashville until 1988, according to WABE.
“As we all knew and loved her, Oprah Winfrey had developed by then.” Winfrey stated, “So I graduated from Tennessee State when I won my third Emmy.” Winfrey has won 12 NAACP Image Awards, one Tony Award, and 19 Emmy Awards.
The creator of the OWN network encouraged the students at her alma mater to follow their passions and to pay attention to the “still, small voice,” which will lead them to a place where they can “begin to know your own heart and figure out what matters most,” after sharing her journey to graduation and her God-ordained steps to success with them.
With the tale of Tennessee state representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who were both ejected from Congress for calling for stricter gun control regulations while on the House floor, and Nelson Mandela’s effort and devotion, Winfrey motivated the graduates of HBCUs to undertake meaningful employment.
