San Diego High School students got a big surprise on Wednesday – a visit from Oprah Winfrey as well as Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates and wife Melinda.
Oprah's TV crew was trailing the billionaire couple as they met with nine students for an upcoming segment of about the Gates' school-reform efforts.
The three-hour visit was not publicly announced and the press was barred from the campus, But Mark Toney, 42, told the Associated Press that his 16-year-old daughter, Daejha, called him about the stellar school guests.
"She said, 'Dad, you're not going to believe it. Oprah is here. I waved at her and she waved back at me,'" Toney said.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donated $11 million to the San Diego Unified School District in 2003 to reform three large high schools, said Music McCall, a spokeswoman for the district.
Winfrey has also donated millions to academic programs and six years ago honored 17-year-old Chula Vista High School senior Melissa Payne on her TV show, according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Oprah, Bill Gates Surprise School Kids
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