Oprah Winfrey will deliver this year’s Harvard commencement speech

Oprah Winfrey will be the key note speaker at Harvard University’s 362nd commencement ceremony on May 30.

Harvard President Drew Faust told The Harvard Gazette, “Oprah's journey from her grandmother's Mississippi farm to becoming one of the world's most admired women is one of the great American success stories," he said. "She has used her extraordinary influence and reach as a force for good in the world, with a constant focus on the importance of educational opportunity and the virtues of serving others."

According to CNN, Winfrey will be speaking at Harvard’s “Afternoon Exercises.”

The talk show queen’s television show ran for more than 20 years and had over 40 million viewers each week. After leaving the show, Winfrey is now focusing on her production company Harpo Studios, her magazine O, The Oprah Magazine as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network.

Harvard is known for having extremely prestigious keynote speakers. Last year, Harvard’s commencement speaker was Fareed Zakaria, PhD, the editor at large of TIME. In 2011, the university hosted Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia, and in 2008 the speaker was Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling.

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